Quid Pro Quo
by flamingphoenixfire
Summary: Sequel to Love Hurts. When Lily needed Scorpius, he was there for her. Will Lily be able to do him the same favor?ScorpiusLily
1. Disappointed at Dinner

**A/N: This is the sequel to **_**Love Hurts. **_**If you haven't read that story then you might not understand some things. I appreciate reviews. **

Lily Potter stared at her reflection in the glass. No matter how many times her mirror reassured her she still worried about her appearance. She flattened a strand of auburn hair that insisted on curling.

"You're _still_ doing your hair?" Albus said from the door. "I don't know what you're so worried about. It's just Scor." Lily could feel the heat rising to her cheeks before she saw the red tint in the mirror.

"Shove off, Al! I'll be down in a minute." He turned and huffed. She heard his heavy footsteps echoing down the stairs. She took one last look at the red-head in the glass. Cinnamon eyes took in the long red hair that stubbornly refused to remain straight at the ends. Only a sprinkling remained of the girlish freckles that had covered her cheeks years previously. Womanly curves replaced the angular planes on Lily's lithe form. Would he notice how much she had changed this summer?

She headed down the stairs when she heard the front door open smiling in anticipation. Her smile fell when she saw only James standing in the entranceway talking to Albus.

"Where's Scor?" The apologetic look her brother gave her answered her question.

"His Dad said there's some family matter that's come up. He's not going to be able to come this year."

Her heart sank. She looked down at the new jeans and shirt she had bought for the occasion.

"Oh." She twisted a curl around her finger.

"I'm sorry, Lily."

"Yeah—I'm going to go change for supper." She turned back up the stairs.

Her mirror sat on the oak bedside table where she had left it last night after talking to Scor. She thought of calling him but turned away from the small rectangular glass. It wasn't Scor's fault he couldn't come, the rational side of her reasoned, but the disappointed side would not be swayed.

She took off her new clothes and put them away in her closet and chose an old T-shirt and some jeans with holes in the knees instead. Then she grabbed her new Silver Arrow and walked back down the stairs.

"I'm going to fly for a bit, Mum," she said as she walked through the kitchen.

"Alright, but not too long dinner is almost ready."

"Okay."

The sun was just starting to dip below the trees. She could smell the sweet perfume wafting from the flower beds surrounding the house. She mounted the broom as soon as she reached the garden wall and kicked off. The warm air streaming past her blew away some of her sadness. She felt the warm glow of her pendant against her skin. She had hoped that maybe this summer she might have been able to pluck up enough courage to tell Scor how she felt about him.

Lily had loved Scor since the end of her first year, probably longer if she thought about it, but no matter how much Rose reassured her, she wasn't sure Scor felt the same. She had certainly made her feelings rather obvious, to her mind at least, but Scor had never addressed her as anything other than a friend for three years making her wonder if she had misread all his previous actions. James had told her many times _just be patient. You're too young for a boyfriend anyway, _but she felt sure James could never really understand how strongly he felt for her best friend.

The sound of her mum calling from the kitchen door brought Lily out of her musing. She landed on the springy lawn and walked to the door carrying her broom.

"Go wash up and call your brothers."

Lily stowed her broom in her closet and washed her hands and face in the bathroom across the hall. The warm water felt good on her skin.

"James! Al! Dinner's ready."

She heard their doors open as she made her way down the stairs. She helped her mum set the table. James and Al sat down and launched into a conversation about the latest Quidditch match.

"We beat the wasps 250-10. We'll be playing Pride in two weeks," James said. He played chaser for Puddlemere United. "Wood is killing us with practices this week."

"That sounds like him," Ginny laughed as she stirred a pot of cream.

"Too bad you aren't playing the Tornado's—would be nice to get to go to one of your games."

"Yeah, too bad Scor's going to miss the Tornado's game," James said.

"It won't be the same without his deafening screams." Al laughed.

They both looked at Lily. She busied herself trying not to cut herself with the steak knives.

"Bet he's miserable."

"Yeah, poor bloke—wonder why he couldn't come."

They both looked at Lily again.

"I haven't called him," she said flatly.

"Why not!" Al looked shocked. She just shifted back and forth and continued to place silverware.

"Lily, you should talk to him," her mother spoke up from the stove, "he would do the same for you."

She thought about it. Mum was right. Scor wouldn't avoid her just because he was disappointed. They shared everything, well, most everything.

"Okay, I'll call him after dinner." Both her brothers smiled happily at this and everyone started piling food onto their plates.

"I hope your father gets home soon." Ginny said from the end of the table.

Lily's father had been coming home late every night this summer. When anyone questioned him about it, he would speak of vague leads to dark dealings and tell them something was brewing. James, Al, and Lily had a hard time getting worked up over this never having experienced the dark times their parents had lived through. Lily merely felt annoyance that she got to see so little of her father. She finished her green beans, steak and creamed potatoes before heading back up to her room. She sat and stared at the mirror for a long time before finally picking it up and whispering, "Scor."


	2. Miserable at the Manor

Scorpius could have easily heard the raised voices even if he hadn't been standing with his ear pressed to the drawing room door.

"I can't believe you would let your son consort with a _Potter!"_

"Father, there's nothing wrong with Lily Potter. She is a nice girl."

"She's _his _daughter! She's a blood traitor!"

"My son has done nothing wrong."

"Have you no pride? Does the name Malfoy mean nothing to you?"

"Father, don't you think it's about time we faced reality? Times have changed. The Dark Lord is dead and Potter is the one that saved us from that nightmare. Scorpius loves Lily Potter. You might as well get used to the idea because if he has his way, she will be a Malfoy in a few years time."

"OVER MY DEAD BODY! I refuse to see our family disgraced. The Dark Lord may indeed be gone, but there are still those who uphold his purist beliefs. If you and your son insist upon defying me, do not expect my protection!"

Scor heard a glass break and footsteps coming toward the door. He slipped into the library and hid behind a large bookshelf at the back of the room. The footsteps continued down the hall. He slid down the wall facing a line of foul looking books. Most of the titles were in latin, but a few wore names like _Deadly Magic for the Deceptively Devious _and _Advances Toward Annihilation—Inroads to the Purification of our Society. _

Scor thought about what he had overheard. Lucius had always seemed a bit mental to him, but his words to Draco were those of a madman. Would he really kill his own son? His grandson? Having heard so many of the stories of diabolical deeds his grandfather participated in, he would not put it past the man.

He stood up and crept out of the dark library and down the hall to his room. Posters of the Tornado's covered one wall reminding him that he would be missing this year's game. A picture of Lily, James, and Al smiled at him from his bedside table. Lily waved and blew a kiss at him shyly.

He flopped down on his bed missing her so much it hurt. His father was right, though Scor wasn't sure how Draco knew it. Scor had planned on asking Lily to be his girlfriend this summer. He was sure Mr. Potter couldn't object. She would be fifteen this year. _Yes, father, if I have my way, she will be my wife one day._ He had thought initially that his love for Lily would wane through the years, but if anything it had only grown stronger the closer they had become.

The Potters were so much like family to him that he could conceive of no better plan than to make sure they became so. He stared at the mirror on his mahogany bedside table hoping she would call. He wanted to apologize for not being able to come, he wanted to see her beautiful smile, most of all he wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but that was not something you told a girl over a _mirror._

"Scor." He could see the red hair from his position on the bed. He reached over and picked up his mirror and looked into her brown eyes.

"Hey."

"You okay?" He could see the worry in her expression.

"Yeah I guess. Sorry I didn't get to come."

"Me too. You're going to miss a great game you know."

_Among other things, _he thought.

"Guess Al and James will have to terrorize the other team without me." She laughed and his pulse quickened.

"I really wanted to see you," she said softly looking at something he couldn't see in her lap.

"I wanted to see you too, Lily. It's dull as tombs here. I miss all the excitement over at your place." He saw her countenance fall.

"Yeah…it's loads of fun here…," she said with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

"Well look at it this way, you could be _here,_" he said looking around at his menacingly ornate bedroom. He looked back and saw her expression brighten. A mischievous look appeared where her frown had been moments before.

"Would you Dad let me!"

"Let you what?"

"Come visit you! If you can't come here, maybe I could come there!" His heart started pounding in his chest. _She can't come here! Not with Lucius prowling around, _but how could he tell her without hurting her feelings?

"I don't know Lily."

"Oh come on, it'll be great! Don't worry about there being nothing to do. I'm sure we'll have loads of fun. You could show me that creek you told me about and…"

"Lily, I don't think it's a good time. I mean, I'd love to have you come, but…my family…it's just…"

"I wouldn't be in the way. I promise. I just want to be there for you like you've been for me."

"Well…"

"It couldn't hurt to ask."

"Okay, I'll ask, but don't expect anything." He saw her bouncing on her bed.

"Okay."

"Promise you won't get your hopes up?" The look on her face told him it was already too late.

"Promise."

"Talk to you tomorrow then."

"Goodnight Scor."

"G'night Lily."

He sat the mirror back on his table feeling a bit nauseous. How could he ask his father if Lily could visit? More importantly, how could he make sure his father said no?

The next morning he woke up early and ran down to his father's office in his socks and pajamas. He hoped to catch his dad before he left for work. Just as he expected, Draco sat at the large mahogany desk reading the _Daily Prophet _with a scowl on his face.

"Father," Scor spoke softly from the door.

"Scorpius," Draco said looking up. "What are you doing up so early?"

Scor walked across the room and stood in front of the desk.

"I needed to ask you something. You don't have to say yes…I mean it's okay if you don't want to…"

"Scorpius, why don't you just ask me first." His father gave him a brief smile.

"Well…Lily wants to come for a visit and I…"

"So the Potter brat wants to see how the other half lives?" Lucius's cold voice pierced the atmosphere that had briefly existed between father and son. Draco stood his face dark.

"Father!" Scor turned to see the blond-haired devil smiling wickedly.

"You know I think you _should _invite her Scorpius." Scor felt his stomach lurch. He wanted to hit the man, pound his face over and over.

"No, I don't believe that is wise." Draco hissed through clenched teeth.

"Oh come now Draco let the boy have his fun. How often does he get to invite a _friend _to visit? I insist." The piercing stare Lucius shot at Draco chilled Scor. This wasn't going as he had planned. He was sure his father would have understood and said no, but now…

"It's okay. Maybe next year," Scor said hoping to put an end to the glaring match between his father and grandfather.

"_This _year will be perfect. You will go this _instant _and send an invitation to your _friend._" He looked back to his father noticing his fists were clenched and his eyes were flashing as he glared at Lucius. "NOW!"

Scorpius ran out of the room. What had he done? Could he possibly protect Lily from Lucius if she came? _Maybe, _and he hoped and prayed it would be so, _maybe her parents won't let her come. _As he entered his room and went to his desk next to the window to find quill and parchment, he wished for something he never had before. He wished that he would _not _get to see Lily Potter this summer.


	3. Just Breathe

**A/N: I really appreciate all of you who have taken the time to read and review. All your comments have been very helpful.**

Lily squealed with delight when Scor's owl Xerces swooped down onto the breakfast table landing next to her plate. She anxiously removed his letter.

"He must have asked his father already," she said.

"Asked him what?" Al looked over her shoulder as she read the flowing script.

"If I can come to visit." She finished the brief note and looked down the table to where her father sat munching a piece of toast. "Scor's invited me to come the week before school starts. Can I go?"

Harry looked over at Ginny. The silent communication lasted a moment and then her mother turned to her.

"Lily, I'm not sure that's such a great idea." Her mum looked a bit pale and Lily remembered the same fear in her eyes when she had spoken of her first year at Hogwarts and Tom Riddle's diary.

"But Mum! He needs me. He's miserable there all alone!"

"Lily, I'm not so sure I want you there with Lucius Malfoy. I don't trust him. He's mental." Her father said and then stared through the bowl of scrambled eggs.

"Please, Dad. Scor's done so much for me. What sort of friend would I be if I couldn't put up with one barmy old git for a week?" Ginny looked back at Harry and Lily inwardly rejoiced as resignation washed over her parents' faces at the same moment.

"I guess…"

"I suppose…"

"Yipee!" Lily jumped up and hugged her mother and father before grabbing a quill of the living room desk and scribbling a quick response on the back of the parchment. She tied it to the leg of the owl that had just finished her bacon, and it flew back out the window.

Later that evening as Lily moved around her room gathering up the things she would be taking back to Hogwarts, her mum came in and shut the door.

"Lily, you do know it's two weeks until you're going to the Malfoy's right?"

"Of course—I just want to make sure I have everything."

"Come sit down a minute and talk to me."

Lily walked over to her bed and sat on the thick emerald comforter. The same look of fear still covered her mother's kind face. On impulse, Lily wrapped her arms around her mum enjoying the familiar scent of vanilla lingering in her hair.

Ginny finally pulled away and gave Lily a serious look.

"Lily, you remember when I told you about the diary?"

"Yes."

"About Tom possessing me?"

"Yes."

"Well, what I _didn't_ tell you is that Lucius Malfoy _gave_ me that diary."

"What!" Lily felt sick. Her mother had shared the horrible experience of her first year at Hogwarts with her daughter to help her overcome her feelings of weakness. Lily had felt so small and gullible for being duped by the dead man's ghost. Lily still remembered the tears they spilt together and the ache she felt having such a strange bond to her mother.

"He…did that…to you?" Ginny only nodded. Anger rose up like a storm inside Lily. _How could he? Why wasn't he punished—locked away to rot in Azkaban?_

"Lily," her mother's soft voice interrupted her seething thoughts. "I'm not telling you this to make you hate the Malfoys. I just want you to be careful. Stay away from Lucius Malfoy if you can."

"Mum, if you don't want me to go…"

"No, Lily, you were right. Friends are there for each other. You need to be there for Scor, just…watch your back."

"I will, Mum," and she wrapped her arms around Ginny once again.

The day arrived for Lily to leave for Malfoy manor. They had arranged to meet Scor and his father in the Leaky Cauldron that morning and Lily's stomach felt as though it was dancing about like a sprite.

"You're so lucky, Lils," Al said around a piece of bacon. "I wish Scor had invited me. Wonder what his house is like? Bet he's got a whole wing to himself." Lily didn't open her mouth to correct him for fear she might be sick.

"Well, if the rooms are as big as the cellar...," Harry spoke up from the head of the table. "The drawing room is rather large actually."

"Did they really throw you and Uncle Ron in the cellar?" Al looked ecstatic.

"And Luna and Dean and Olivander as well." Lily felt her stomach squirm. The smell of bacon was beginning to make her queasy.

"Wonder if that's where you'll be staying, Lily?" Al said turning to her. "Nice and dark—it'll be just like Hogwarts!"

"Al," Ginny glared at Albus and he returned to his fried eggs.

"Well, we'd best get going, Lily." Harry said after finishing his last bite of bacon. She stood without a word and moved up the stairs clinging to the banister. She opened the door to her room and took one last look around to make sure she had packed everything. She picked up her two-way mirror and slipped it into her jeans pocket. Her opal pendant lay in the open box on her vanity. She ran her finger over the smooth stone and watched it glow. She pulled it out of the box, lifted the chain over her head, and closed the empty box stowing it in her trunk.

"Got everything?" Harry said from the door.

"I think so." He waved his wand and levitated her trunk down the stairs to the front door. She hugged her mother and brother (James had already left for Quidditch practice), told her mum she would see her at Christmas, and stepped out the door into the sunny yard. She took her father's arm when they were far enough away from the house. Harry turned on the spot and they squeezed their way to the Leaky Cauldron.

It took a moment for Lily's eyes to adjust to the darkness in the small pub. The smell of alcohol and smoke assaulted her senses immediately. The bartender greeted them pleasantly and directed them to one of the private parlors in the back where they were told Mr. Malfoy and Scorpius waited. Lily felt the butterflies return to her stomach in full force. She clutched her father's arm for support.

"You okay?" He smiled down at her and patted her hand gently.

"Yeah."

Lily's heart nearly stopped when they entered the small parlor. Scor and Mr. Malfoy stood to greet them. She wasn't the only one who had changed over the summer. Scor had grown at least three inches taller and a bit broader in the chest. His platinum hair hung elegantly over his grey eyes. His high cheekbones and chiseled jaw didn't have the sharp quality of his father's pointed features. His white Oxford shirt and black trousers fit his athletic frame perfectly. The combined effect made Lily clench her jaw shut to keep from drooling. She barely registered her father leaving her side to talk to Mr. Malfoy in hushed tones. Her eyes were fixed on Scor, her best friend, her love.

He made his way over to her awkwardly giving her a brief hug that she knew she enjoyed way too much. The spicy smell of his cologne left her a bit lightheaded, so she was glad when he held out a chair for her.

"Lily, I…"

"Scor, I…" They both started simultaneously. She saw the color tint his cheeks and felt the heat in her own. Trying desperately to think clearly enough to speak, she breathed a sigh of relief when Mr. Malfoy and her father turned back to their children.

"Well, I guess we had better go," Draco said and held his arm out to Lily who stood and took it gratefully. Scor grabbed one end of her trunk. Having turned seventeen in March, he had received his apparition license. Consequently, he would have the job of bringing the luggage.

"Take care of her," Harry said and smiled at Lily. She felt her throat constrict and wondered if she was doing the right thing. Both Malfoy men answered, "I will," and with a twist and a squeeze, Lily took her first into another world.


	4. Splish Splash

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews. It's nice to know so many people are enjoying this story. **

Scor couldn't decide whether to be thrilled or terrified. Lily Potter stood outside the gate to Malfoy manor, _his _home, still holding his father's arm. Draco led Lily up to the wrought iron gates, held up his arm, and passed through with her. Scor followed close behind. He wished his father would take care of the trunk and let Lily hold _his _arm.

They made their way down the straight drive to the stately house in the distance. Scor wondered what she would think of it. The Potter's house was sunshine compared to the dismal dwelling which was Malfoy manor. Every aspect of the place from the cellar to the dome was meant to exclude wealth. The result was more of a museum than a manor.

The front door opened of its own accord reveling Lucius Malfoy waiting in the hallway surrounded by portraits of blond-haired Malfoy ancestors.

"Father." Draco came to a stop and Lily moved closer to him.

"So _this _is Ms. _Potter, _is it?"

"Lily, this is my father, Lucius Malfoy. Father, Lily Potter."

"Pleased to meet you," Lily spoke with more steadiness in her voice than Scor had expected.

"The pleasure is all mine, I'm sure." Lucius's smooth voice made Scor long to drop the trunk and draw Lily into his arms hiding her from view. "It will be _lovely _getting to _know _you better, Ms. _Potter."_

Scor couldn't take any more. He dropped his wand letting the trunk thump to the floor and took a step forward, but his father's voice stopped him.

"Scorpius, why don't you show Lily to her room. I'll send Milly to fetch you for tea." Scor put his arm around Lily's waist and guided her down the hall and up the large staircase.

"What about my trunk?" Lily said after a moment.

"Milly will bring it."

They moved down the wide hallway past closed doors on either side. Scor stopped in front of the next to last on the left.

"This is my room. Fancy a look?"

"Alright then."

He opened the door and watched her face intently. Her eyes lit up at the Tornado's posters covering the walls.

"I brought you one from this year's game. It's in my trunk."

"Thanks."

She walked across the expansive floor stopping briefly to touch a finger to his two-way mirror laying on the bedside table and to laugh at the photo of herself and her brothers fighting to get to the forefront of the picture. She moved to the large window and pushed aside the curtains looking down into the gardens below.

"Beautiful view," she said still looking out the window.

"Yeah," he said looking at her.

"It's a great room, Scor."

"It's big anyway. Come on, I'll show you yours."

They walked back out the door and he led her to the last door on the left. Scor had pleaded with his father for three days to let Lily have the room next to his. After much hemming and hawing and several talks of "being a gentleman" he had finally agreed. He pushed the door open and held his breath.

Several vases were scattered around the room with different varieties of lilies in them. He had insisted that Milly remove the thick green curtains over the large windows and replaced them with sheer lavender ones that allowed the light to permeate the room. The comforter and chair covers matched the curtains, making this room the most cheerful in the whole place. Lily smiled widely and threw her arms around him causing his heart to race crazily before she ran over to the bed and flung herself on it sighing.

"So soft." The tone in her voice caused heat to shoot through his veins.

"Glad you like it," he croaked. He had to get out of here, and fast! "Um…why don't I show you the grounds?"

"Alright."

Scor gave her a tour of the rose gardens and the hot houses laughing when she had to smell every variety. He led her to the lake and was not surprised when she insisted on feeding the graceful black swans drifting along on the surface of the still water. At one point, he felt as though they were being watched. He looked back to the manor to see Lucius gazing at them from an upstairs window.

At tea Lily met Scor's mother. Scor was just thankful that his mum didn't make any remarks about Lily's hair. She did keep her nose in the air the entire time she spoke to Lily which thankfully didn't seem to notice. Lucius's eyes remained fixed on Lily through the day and Scor resolved to sleep in the hall outside her bedroom if he had to.

Scor lay on his bed that night wishing the week would last forever. Lily's happiness was contagious. It almost made Malfoy manor bearable. He waited until his watch told him it was past midnight before getting up and tiptoeing to her door. He pushed the door open a crack and saw her red hair splayed over the pillow. His throat constricted and it was several seconds before he took out his wand, pointed it at the sleeping girl, and muttered several protective spells.

"G'night love," he whispered before tiptoeing back to his own room and climbing into bed.

Scor made sure to spend every waking moment with Lily for the next two days. He even went so far as waiting outside the bathroom for her. _One can never be too careful after all. _On Thursday, he decided to take her to the creek. He held two brooms and waited outside her door. Finally, the door opened and she stepped out. She wore jeans and a T-shirt and he noticed she hadn't put her pendant on this morning. She smiled up at him and held out a hand for one of the brooms.

"Milly's packing us a picnic lunch. I thought we could eat by the creek."

"That sounds lovely." They passed a door on the way to the kitchens and Lily shivered.

"Cold?" he asked though it felt perfectly comfortable to him.

"No…must have just been a chill."

They gathered the picnic basket from the smiling elf and headed to the door to the gardens. On the way, they passed Draco's study and Lily stuck her head in to find his father sitting at his desk.

"Where are the two of you off to today?"

"Picnic at the creek," Lily smiled, "would you like to come, Mr. Malfoy?" Scor thought his father might choke.

"Uh…no, you two go ahead. I…uh…have some work to do here."

"Okay. See you tonight, Mr. Malfoy."

"Yes." Draco shook his head and smiled when she turned around.

They flew over the tops of the trees enjoying the breeze. The creek was a short distance away from the manor house, but still within the grounds. Scor enjoyed watching the wind whip Lily's hair around as she sped through the air. They touched down in a clearing near the creek. The water gurgled happily over the smooth stones. Braches of the tall Elm and Oak trees stretched over the creek shielding it from the sun. The breeze rustled the leaves of the trees and the smell of green things and fresh air crowded out the stuffy atmosphere in their lungs.

Scor spread a blanket underneath an elm and sat down on it to pull of his trainers and socks. Lily sat down next to him mimicking his movements. She rolled her jeans up to her knees and waded out into the water to join him.

"It's so nice and cool," she said smiling.

"This is my favorite place."

"I can understand why." She bent down and trailed her fingers through the water. _Maybe I should tell her now. Can't get much more romantic than this. _Water hit his face and he watched her laugh hysterically.

"Of course you realize, this means war," he said bending down to the water.

"Bring it on," she smiled wickedly. At once, they both started splashing each other like five-year-olds. They laughed and spluttered as the water flew around the like a fountain until they both stood facing each other dripping wet and gasping for breath.

"Well…I don't know about you, but that's worked up my appetite," Lily said after a few awkward moments had passed. _Idiot! Why didn't you say something?_ They both waded back to the shore and Scor cast drying spells on them for the sake of his sanity.

"Scor?" He looked over at her leaning back on her arms as he unpacked the sandwiches. A hunger rose up in him that had nothing to do with his stomach. "Is your father happy?" He tried to reign in his feelings enough to consider the question. Scor had never really considered whether his father was happy or not.

"I don't know. He keeps to himself most of the time, but I guess he's pretty happy."

"Does he love your mum?" This question caught him off guard.

"I guess."

"I've just never seen them even look at each other since I've been here."

"Well, Mum's pretty…she's busy with…" _What does she do? _He thought about the times his parents had been together and he couldn't remember them ever touching.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry." He smiled at her. She had opened the door to a new idea, and the nagging doubt wouldn't leave him alone. That night as soon as he had cast the protective charms around Lily, he went in search of his father. He was sitting in his office staring out the window.

"Dad?" Draco turned and raised his eyebrow.

"You haven't called me that since you were three." Scor slipped into the room and shut the door, not wanting to be interrupted by Lucius again. "What's on your mind, son?"

"Do you love Mum?" He blurted out before berating himself for being so direct. Draco looked down at the smooth finish on his desk.

"She's a dutiful wife."

"But do you love her?" He wanted to add, _"like I love Lily," _but he stopped himself. Draco started playing with a quill on his desk.

"Love is a strange thing, Scorpius." He seemed unable to continue, but Scor didn't have any problem filling in the blanks.

"Is that why you never had any more kids?" Scor had always wished for a brother or sister.

"Pansy…your mother…she didn't want more children. She claimed it would ruin her figure. She said she had given me an heir and that was all I needed." For the first time, Scor noticed the hollowness behind his father's eyes. Draco smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes.

"You will just have to make it up to me by having a troupe of children yourself," Scor blushed thinking of who he wanted as the mother of said children. "and if my guess is correct, you won't be facing the same problem as I." This time Draco's grin was genuine.

Scor tiptoed back to his room thinking of the jewelry box hidden under his bed. Being with Lily was his greatest desire, but now he wondered whether he should ask her or not. All the Malfoy notions of duty and tradition had kept his parents from finding love. Would the same thing happen if he married Lily? He didn't want their relationship to become a duty to her. As he opened the door to his room, he thought he heard the swishing of fabric. He turned to check the hall, but did not see anything. He tiptoed to her door and peered in at Lily. He could barely make out the rise and fall of her chest as she slept. Yes, he would ask her. _If she loves me even half as much as I love her, nothing can stand in our way. _Yes, tomorrow he would ask Lily to be his.


	5. Love in the Library

**A/N: Oh, what wonderful reviews. How I love them. Thanks to all who reviewed. I want to improve and every comment helps. **

Lily woke up shivering Friday morning. Deep shadows still covered the room as her comforter covered her. _Why does it feel so cold in here? _The clock on the wall said it was 4:35 AM. The big room felt eerie to her; she couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched. She slipped out of bed and grabbed her bathrobe off of a lavender chair. The door moved noiselessly as she pushed it open and stepped into the dark hall. She set off toward Scor's room. Movement in the shadows ahead froze her to the spot. She stared at the edge of a gilt picture frame hung above a small table. After several minutes of heart palpitation and fear, she decided it must have been the occupant of the portrait moving that had caught her eye. She continued to the next door and pushed it open, stepped inside, and shut it quickly.

Scor slept soundly his bed sheets tangled around him. His tousled hair framed his face and his pajama shirt fell open revealing his collarbone and part of his shoulder. Lily tiptoed over to the four-poster enjoying the sight. Taking great care not to wake him, Lily crawled in the king sized bed behind him wrapping her arm around him and pressing herself to his back. Instantly her fear melted away. Feeling bold with the success of not being detected, she pressed her lips to his neck where it met his shoulder.

"Goodnight, love," she whispered warmth flowing through her. She closed her eyes inhaling the woody smell lingering in his hair. In moments sleep consumed her.

She woke later that morning the feel of Scor's soft breaths on her cheek. She lay facing the window with Scor's arm and leg draped over her. He moved behind her pulling her closer to his chest and she pressed her eyes closed feigning sleep. She imagined what it would be like to wake up next to him every morning and delicious heat coursed through her veins. _Maybe when he wakes up and finds me here, I can finally tell him how I feel. _Fantasies of marriage and children played out in her mind nearly lulling her back to sleep when she felt him stiffen and jump away from her as though he had been stung. A stab of pain shot through her chest. _He doesn't want to be near me? He must not feel the same way._

"Uh…Lily?" His voice sounded hoarse. She opened her eyes pretending she was just waking up.

"Mmmm?"

"Lily, what are you doing in here?" She thought she detected a note of panic in his voice and looked away from him quickly. All the words of love she meant to speak died on her lips.

"Oh…I'm sorry…I was afraid last night…my room felt…cold. I just didn't want to be alone. I didn't mean to bother you."

"It's alright," he said in a much more natural tone of voice. Her stomach clenched fiercely.

"Well, I'm going to get dressed. See you downstairs." She jumped up and ran across the room trying to control herself long enough to get back to her own. When she finally made it there, she slid down the closed door and buried her face in her hands. _What was I thinking? _Her back felt cold where he had been pressed against her only moments before. Emptiness welled up inside her. Rose, James, Professor Longbottom, all of them were wrong! He only wants to be friends. The silent tears streamed down her cheeks. After emptying herself of emotion, she rifled through her trunk for jeans and a shirt. Her hand brushed the two-way mirror and she picked it up. She turned it over to read the words _My Best Friend _written on the back in her own eleven year old scrawl. Lily laid the mirror on top of a pair of red socks and pulled on her clothes steeling herself for the day ahead. _I will think of him only as a friend. _

Thinking of him as anything but the prat she loved turned out to be impossible. Lily realized this as she sat across from him in the library holding a book on ancient magic she was supposed to be reading. Her eyes insisted on drifting up to take in his expression. Her heart was determined to skip a beat when he smiled. Her skin refused to stay cool when he accidentally brushed against her. It was too late to stop loving Scor now. Her only choice was to find contentment in his friendship and love him from afar. His grey eyes caught her brown ones for the hundredth time, and she sucked in another breath.

"Lily?"

"Hmm?"

"There's…something I want to ask you." She closed the book and sat it on her lap. _Oh, please don't ask me about last night! I'm not sure I can hide my feelings a second time._

"Okay."

He shifted in his seat.

"I…I…I need to get something from my room first. Can you wait here?"

"Uh…sure."

He hurried out the door and she heard his footsteps retreating down the hall.

"Well, well, well…finally we have a moment alone." Lucius Malfoy appeared from behind a shelf. Lily shot up and tried to swallow as the wizard moved to cut off her only means of escape.

"He's coming right back. Maybe I should go help him." She could hear her voice quavering as she spoke. _Way to stand up for yourself, Lily._

"There's no hurry. Why don't we get to _know _one another better?" The feral gleam in the man's eyes chilled her to the bone as he advanced toward her. She backed away until she hit the wall. His eyes danced maliciously. "What a pretty little thing you are. Pity you come from a family of blood traitors, I might…"

"Father!" Lily felt her heart beat madly as Draco Malfoy stepped into the room.

"Draco…you're just in time to _entertain _our guest."

"Yes, father," she gasped. Would he really give her up to this monster? "I was just coming to get Lily and Scorpius. I'm taking them to the Wasp's game. Come, Lily." She obeyed at once hiding behind Scorpius's father.

"You disappoint me, Draco."

"I'm sorry father, but we must hurry. We're running late already." Lily trembled and clutched the back of Draco's robes like a small child. He turned and she held onto his arm for dear life. Once in the hall she turned to see Lucius glaring at her from the library door. The gleam of hate still shone in his ashen eyes. Halfway down the corridor they met Scor running toward them. He paled when he saw them.

"Father! What happened? Why…"

"Come Scorpius, I'm taking you and Lily to the Wasp's game."

"But…"

"At once!"

"Yes, sir." They walked out the door and down the driveway to the wrought iron gates. Once outside, Draco took Scor's arm and turned on the spot. Lily was glad to see Malfoy manor disappearing around her.


	6. Sensory Overload

**A/N: I greatly appreciate all the wonderful reviews for this sequel. This chapter is dedicated to all of you. You know who you are. Thank-you for joining me in this adventure and encouraging me to keep plugging on. ****Thanks so much to all of you, and without further ado…**

A wave of cheers greeted Scor when he appeared beside his father and Lily. The back of the stands rose up before him, banners waving in the breeze from the topmost boxes. He could just make out the yellow and black robes of a Wasps player through the tiers. Lily stood white as a sheet still clinging to his father's arm. An invisible hand seemed to clench Scor's heart. Draco led her to a picnic table nearby and she sank onto the bench.

"I'm sorry, Lily," Draco said gently. "I promised your father I would take care of you and…" She dug her fingernails into the weathered wood of the bench.

"You did! You took me away from that…from him." Scor saw her tremble.

"Is anyone going to tell me what happened?" Scor said frustration and concern balling within him.

"Lucius cornered Lily in the library. I believe he was threatening her when I arrived."

"That…that…I'll kill him!"

"Scorpius, calm down. Getting yourself killed will solve nothing. Scor wanted to argue, wanted to apparate back and hit Lucius with a thousand curses. He took a deep breath and stared at Lily. She looked resolutely down at her hands refusing to meet his eye. _This was my fault. I shouldn't have left her._

"What do we do now?" Scor said softly.

"We wait until Lily calms down and then we return to the manor. You will remain with her until tomorrow when you will both return to school where he can harm her no further." Lily sat unmoving. "Would you like to watch the game, Lily?" She looked up at Draco and gave him a brief nod. Scor moved to offer her his arm before his father could then led her to the stands. Thoughts of Lucius kept nagging him as they made their way past screaming fans. _What would happen to his father? Would Lucius have his "purist" friends hurt him or worse kill him? _Scor sat staring at the seat in front of him completely ignoring the match. Lily's color returned slowly as the game progressed and towards the end she even screamed, "Go James!" when her brother made a particularly well executed goal.

Afterwards, they waited outside the locker room and Lily flew at James as soon as she caught sight of him. James held her close and gave Scor a questioning look.

"Lils, what's wrong?" She didn't answer, but Scor could see her shuddering in James's arms and knew she was crying. He stifled the urge to hit something. Scor hated it when Lily cried. He knew how upset she must be. All she had to do was tell James and then she would be gone. "Did they do something to you? Lily, what happened?" James glared at him and his father. Scor heard Lily sniffing and wished she would let him comfort her instead of James.

"They…they didn't d…do anything, James. I jus…just miss you!" Her sobs resumed in earnest.

"I'm not buying it, Lily. What's wrong?"

"N…no…really," she wiped her eyes on the hem of her shirt allowing Scor a glimpse of creamy skin. "It…it's just been…I didn't…I didn't sleep well. You know…how I…how I get when…I'm tired." James nodded but Scor still saw a hint of malice in the look James shot him. Anxious to reassure him and Lily, Scor stepped forward.

"I'll take care of her, James. I swear." James searched his eyes and finally nodded briefly.

"We'd best be getting back," Draco said. Scor had forgotten his father was there silently observing the whole scene. Scor wrapped his arm around Lily's shoulder protectively and led her off after his father. _I won't let anything happen to you again, love, _he thought but wondered if he would be able to keep this promise.

Scor stuck to Lily like glue the rest of the day. They packed their trunks for the trip to Hogwarts then spent the last few hours before bedtime playing chess in his room. After the sixth win, Scor looked up to see Lily stifle a yawn. She continued to set up the board and he realized she was avoiding going back to her room.

He thought of her lying in his arms that very morning. What a shock it had been, a pleasant one to be sure. He knew he had reacted badly, but he was embarrassed by his reaction to being so close to her. After all, he had promised his father he would behave like a gentleman. He watched her eyelids droop as he contemplated his next move. _Father did say to stay with her until tomorrow. _

"Why don't you stay with me tonight?" he whispered. Her eyes shot open revealing relief, anxiety, and something else he couldn't quite define.

"You don't mind?"

"No." She smiled nervously and stood up walking to the enormous bed and lying on the left side close to the edge. He climbed into the middle.

"There's plenty of room. You don't have to fall off the edge," he grinned hoping to lighten the tension he felt and sensed in her. She turned to face him and moved closer to him. She reached over and took his hand warming him instantly.

"Thank-you, Scor. You're my very best friend."

"Lily, I…I…"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad to have you as my best friend." She smiled and shut her eyes while Scor mentally kicked himself. _What is so hard about saying I love you?_

Scor had a hard time sleeping that night. He spent the first hour simply staring at the beauty lying next to him. When he finally drifted to sleep, it was only to be startled awake by a bumping sound coming from the room next door. He reached for Lily pulling her next to him to assure himself she was still there. She snuggled close and lay her head on his chest. He kept vigil through the night stroking her hair and listening to her steady breathing. The combined tension of Lily's closeness and the noises from her room kept him alert for several hours. Eventually exhaustion overcame him in the wee hours of the morning.

When he woke, Lily was gone. Panic rose up inside him. _No! No he couldn't have! _

"Lily?" He searched his room and closet. "Lily!" He ran to the door and across the hall to the bathroom. "Lily!" He ran down the hall to her room. "LILY!" He slammed the door open to find her standing over her open trunk looking at him as though he had grown another head. His heart attempted to escape from his chest as he clung to the door facing panting.

"Scor?" He tried to control his breathing, to stamp down the urge to shake her, yell at her, or snog her senseless but failed. In three strides he had her in his arms; fire consumed him as he crushed her lips with his. Her initial shock passed quickly and she melted into him returning the kiss with a fire matching his own. He felt the euphoria would obliterate him on the spot as he finally came up for air and stared into her dark eyes.

"You scared me." His own voice sounded husky with emotion. She smiled up at him her eyes sparkling.

"I'll have to scare you more often." He grinned lowering his head again this time brushing her lips gently silently asking permission. Her lips parted and they shared a lingering kiss that had the small hairs on the back of Scor's neck standing on end. When their lips parted he laid his cheek on the top of her head wishing he never had to let go.

"Lily, I…"

"Scorpius, Lily, it's…" he turned and saw his father staring red-faced at the two of them from the door. "Uh…we have to leave in ten minutes." He felt Lily pull away and heard her trunk snap shut. _Great timing Dad! _

He walked past his father who looked completely taken aback. He levitated his trunk in his room still reeling from the adrenaline and heat rushing through his veins. _Will I EVER get to tell her?_


	7. Suspicious Serpants

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Real life caught up with me this week. I might take a little longer between chapters for awhile. Thanks for all the lovely reviews. They are always appreciated.**

The first thing Lily noticed when they apparated to Platform 9 ¾ was the funeral parlor atmosphere. A dark cloud seemed to hang over the students and parents bidding each other farewell. Lily spotted Albus, Rose, and Hugo scanning the crowd. She waved to catch their attention and they exchanged hellos and hugs.

"Where's Mum and Dad?" Lily looked around for the familiar black haired and red haired pair. Scor was so close she could feel the heat radiating off of him. Draco stood off to one side listening attentively.

"Something came up at the ministry." Al said the dismal surroundings mirrored in his eyes. "Dad rushed off with Uncle Ron this morning."

"Then Mum drug Aunt Ginny off to do some 'research'," Rose added.

"Something's up. They've been acting weird all week," Hugo said. Lily saw Mr. Malfoy staring at them from the corner of her eye.

"You say they went in this morning?" Draco said looking worried.

Al turned to observe him for a moment before answering, "Yes, about 6 o'clock."

They watched as Draco turned to Scorpius.

"I'd better be going. Have a good year," and with that he disapperated.

"That was odd," Al said.

"Yeah, wonder what's going on?" Scor said from beside Lily.

"Well, we had better go find a seat." Lily looked around the platform noticing most of the students were already aboard. Even the steam issuing forth from the great scarlet engine seemed disinclined to rise up to the heavens. Instead, it curled through the legs of parents saying one last farewell to their children.

The group climbed aboard and set off in search of a compartment dragging trunks and cages with them. The rumble of the train beneath their feet signaled the start of their journey. Hugo, Al, and Scor chatted amiably as they plodded down the corridor, but Lily started to notice faces staring out from already full compartments. All of them wore the green of Slytherin along with dark looks that they directed at an oblivious Scor. Here and there among the sea of scowls, Lily noticed a worried glance or two. Prissy Pucey's expression was one of stark terror. _What is going on? _They finally made it to an empty compartment. Al and Scor stowed the trunks almost knocking Hugo out when Al bumped him with the end of Lily's trunk. Then they all settled down, the boys talking about Quidditch.

"Did you get to see Sharpe?" Lily asked Rose. Rose and Sharpe had been dating since Lily's first year, but Rose had been unusually quiet about her Slytherin boyfriend this summer.

"Did you notice everyone staring?" Rose said and Lily noted the abrupt change of subject with concern.

"I think it was mostly Slytherins."

"Yeah, I think so too. Why do you think they were staring at Scor?" Rose said and Scor looked over at the sound of his name.

"Who was staring?"

"All the Slytherins," Lily said.

"Really, wonder what that's about?" Al said looking to Scor who shrugged his shoulders.

"They were mostly staring at you," Lily said looking at Scor.

"Me?" They all turned to the blond and Lily saw him squirm.

"Well, you don't have anything on your face," Al said reassuringly.

"Maybe they're just jealous cause he's with us." Hugo looked around and everyone rolled their eyes.

They were interrupted by the trolley lady. Lily sighed in relief. Scor had looked so lost and confused that she had wanted to hold him and comfort him. The memory of his kiss still lingered on her lips, but she felt uncertain as to what would happen next. She wished Mr. Malfoy had waited just a little longer before interrupting them. Did Scor want her for his girlfriend or was he just caught up in the moment? Questions and doubts ricocheted around in her mind as the train drew closer to the castle.

A light drizzle coated the students as they made their way from Hogsmede station to the boats or carriages awaiting them. Rose, Al, Hugo, Scor, and Lily all squeezed into a carriage together. As the carriages rocked along the path to Hogwarts the sky unleashed its fury slamming against the carriage in sheets.

"Glad I'm not a first year," Hugo said looking out at the darkness.

Everyone was silent for the rest of the ride. Lily trudged through the mud behind her cousins and brothers. They all stood dripping in the entrance hall shaking their robes. Lily turned to ask Scor which she resembled more, a grindylow or the giant squid, but he was not behind her as she had expected. She finally spotted him standing just inside the doors talking to two Slytherin boys Lily recognized as Theodore Nott and Christopher Goyle. Scor shook his head looking irritated before breaking away from the boys and heading back over to their group.

"Everything okay?"

"Idiots," he muttered. They both squelched their way into the Great Hall parting ways with Hugo, Rose and Al to head to the Slytherin table. Lily sat next to Scor near the end of the table and searched for Sharpe. Lily had the feeling something had happened between Rose and Sharpe this summer and she hoped to ask him about it.

"Do you see Sharpe?" Lily said trying to look down the table over the heads of the taller boys. Scor leaned over and looked.

"Yeah, there he is. Oi, Sharpe!" Scor waved and Lily saw Scor frown after a minute.

"What's wrong? Did he see you?"

"Yeah, he saw me, but he just turned away."

"What is _WITH _everyone?"

"I don't know, but I never would have thought Zabini would be involved in it." Scor frowned and Lily remembered the boys in the entrance hall.

"What did Goyle and Nott want?"

"Something about wanting to join a stupid club. They thought I would know about it. I have no idea what they were on about."

"Weird."

"Yeah." Lily looked over at his bowed head. First years were being sorted and making their way to their respective tables, but it barely made an impression on Lily. _Does he realize how handsome he is? _

"Scor?"

"Yeah?"

"About what happened…"

Professor Lovegood stood up signaling silence and effectively ended any further questioning about the kiss.

"Welcome students to another year at Hogwarts. I trust you are all ready to put your minds to work after a summer of skiving off." Scor and Lily grinned at one another. "Before you fill your stomachs, I must inform you that this year a strict curfew will be observed. No students are to be out of their common rooms past 9 o'clock. Please do not violate this rule as it may cost you more than just house points." Students began muttering around the hall. Lily caught Al's eye at the Gryffindor table. "With that said, let the feast begin."

Enough food to feed an entire army appeared at the table and students piled their plates high as they caught up with one another.

"Well that certainly wasn't the usual ethereal speech was it?" Scor said trying to hide a smirk. Lily just shook her head. _What is going on?_

The feast left everyone stuffed and groggy. Lily was thankful when they started to make their way down to the dungeons. She walked next to Scor yawning every once in awhile. She snuck a sideways glace at Scor to see him looking at her. Suddenly she felt wide awake.

"Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"I was…that is I…wouldyoubemygirlfriend?" She felt her heart beating fit to burst.

"What?" He swallowed and his smoky eyes met her cinnamon ones.

"Would you be my girlfriend?" _Everything is officially right with the world!_

"Yes!" She threw her arms around him not caring that they were standing in the hall where anyone could see them. He felt so warm and strong; his lips were soft and pliable. When they parted the hall was deserted.

"We'd better get back to the common room," he said in a husky voice smiling down at her.

She nodded not trusting herself to speak. They walked hand in hand down the silent corridor muttering the password, _"subterfuge," _at the wall. Everyone had gone to their respective dorms leaving Lily and Scor alone in the dimly lit common room.

She brushed her lips against his again and muttered, "goodnight love."

"Goodnight," he whispered against her lips and after several more shared kisses they parted ways.

Lily practically floated into her dormitory. She walked to her four-poster bed and pulled her pajamas out of her trunk completely unaware of her surroundings until she heard a sniffing on the other side of the room. Vanessa and Alexis were sitting on Rebecca's bed whispering to her in soothing tones. Lily caught some of what they were saying.

"He…he'll _kill_ him!" Rebecca said through her sobs.

"Why doesn't he just do what they say?"

"You…don't under…stand. My mum's a…she's a…_muggle!_" Lily heard the other girls gasp and couldn't resist looking over. Vanessa caught her eye and glared. _Some things never change._ She climbed into her bed wondering who would want to hurt Rebecca's father.

The next morning Lily walked to breakfast hand in hand with her new boyfriend. Although she couldn't suppress the grin on her face, she noticed her fellow Slytherins didn't seem to have the same problem. The girls glaring at her were just jealous. After all she was dating the most handsome boy in the school, but the many dark looks from the boys gave her pause.

She had just sat down and started piling eggs and bacon on their plates when Al dropped onto the bench across from them.

"So…is there something you have to tell me? Hmmm?" He smiled at them and Lily saw Scor's ears turn red.

"Scor's my boyfriend now," she said proudly noticing Scor's blush make its way to his hairline.

"Well, it's about time!" Lily laughed and Scor looked from her to Al in confusion. "We were beginning to think you would never ask her, mate." Al winked and then jumped up and rushed back to the Gryffindor table where he relayed the news to Rose and Hugo. Her cousins both smiled at them from across the room.

"Guess I don't have to worry about your family hexing me into oblivion then?"

Lily shoved him playfully. "Of course not. They love you." She smiled at him and then blushed as she saw the way he was looking at her.

"I love you, Lily." She felt her heart skip and beat.

"I love you too, Scor." She leaned against his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. _This is going to be the best year of my life!_

The teachers had decided to crack down on the fifth years at least Lily and Hugo thought so by the end of the week. Homework seemed to have doubled to prepare them for OWLS. Scor would be taking NEWTS so most of their time together was spent studying. Slytherins still glared at her as she walked down the halls with Scor. Lily had started to feel a bit defensive of her boyfriend.

She stood in the common room Saturday waiting for Scor so they could go to dinner together when Prissy came from the girls' dorms.

"Lily?"

"Hi, Prissy." The girl looked around nervously before edging closer to Lily and whispering.

"You need to be careful, Lily."

"What?"

"Your boyfriend…"

"What about him?" Lily said with a little more venom than she meant to.

"Just…he's…they're going to…," but what they were going to do she never found out because Scor arrived at that moment.

"Hey, love. Hey, Prissy." He smiled and wrapped an arm around Lily.

"Uh…I…have to go. I'll…see you around, Lily," and with a last fearful glance Prissy rushed out of the common room.

"What was _that_ about?" Scor looked at the stone wall brow raised.

"I don't know. She was trying to tell me something. Something about you and someone else and to be careful. You think she was trying to warn me?"

"Who knows. Let's get to dinner before all the food's gone." She poked him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Men and their stomachs." They smiled and headed off to dinner. As they walked to the Great Hall, Lily wondered what had Prissy Pucey so scared.


	8. A Visit From Dad

**A/N: I'm really sorry about all the real life issues getting in the way of updating. I appreciate all those who have taken the time to read and review. Hope you enjoy it.**

Scor sat on his bed thinking about the last two months with Lily. It was as though he had been living in a dream. The smile that had adorned his features when Lily said yes had decided to take up permanent residence. Each night he went to bed counting himself the luckiest bloke in England.

"Hey Malfoy," Nott stood at the door looking sour, "Letter for you." He tossed the missive onto the end of Scor's bed and left quickly. Scor had been so elated to finally have Lily as his girlfriend he had written his father a long letter telling him the happy news. He wasn't surprised then to see Draco's even scrawl on the envelope. He tore it open eagerly.

_Scorpius,_

_I understand this weekend is a Hogsmede weekend. Meet me in the Hogs Head at noon. Come alone._

_Father_

Scor tried to stifle a sense of disappointment. He had hoped to have received a little more support, but perhaps that was why Draco had wanted to see him at Hogsmede. Scor had been happy to see Draco's treatment of Lily this summer. It felt good to know his father supported him in his decision, but there was no reason for his father to want to meet him to tell him anything of that sort. This letter seemed to exude a sense of urgency. _Father must know something. He might want to warn me about what's going on._

Scor folded the letter and slipped it into his pocket as he made his way to the common room. The younger Slytherins were trickling in from their last classes of the day. Lily walked over and dropped her bag onto the floor and wrapped her arms around him.

"Hi love," She smiled up at him, "what's wrong?"

"I got a letter from Dad."

"Oh?"

"He wants to meet me at Hogsmede this weekend."

"Why?"

"Well, I think he might have something to tell me about what's going on or maybe he just wants to warn me about it."

"That's good isn't it? We might find out why everyone's acting so odd."

"I hope so."

The sound of raised voices outside the entrance caught their attention. Lily pulled away and they both turned just as Prissy came thundering through the stone entrance with Matilda on her heels.

"No! I won't do it!"

"Prissy, if you don't he'll…"

"I DON'T CARE! I'm not a pawn in a chess game, I…" Prissy finally noticed she had an audience. She glared at Scor and marched off to the girls dorms. Scor and Lily gave each other identical looks of _"what was that all about?" _

"Let's go to the library," Lily said after a moment or two. "I need to look up a spell for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

As they walked down the corridor Scor noticed how quiet the castle seemed. Everyone spoke in hushed tones as though someone had just died. There was a foreboding sense of anticipation in the air. Al and Hugo were sitting at a table near the back of the nearly deserted library. Scor dropped into a chair across form Al who smiled and then leaned over conspiratorially.

"I overheard Avery and Nott talking in the corridor on the way to Charms," he said without preamble. "They were talking about some sort of initiation."

"For what?"

"Dunno, but it sounded pretty serious. Nott was shaking like mad and saying he didn't know if he could do it."

"That's strange. Nott's never backed down from a dare."

"Yeah. Avery looked like he was going to wet himself."

"Maybe I should ask them what's going on."

"I don't know, Scor," Lily said in a low voice from beside him. "The Slytherins seem rather down on you of late."

"That's true. I can't even get Sharpe to talk to me. He comes in late, leaves early, and he's started sitting by Paul Pucey in classes."

"Well, one of us needs to find out what's going on," Hugo whispered. "Even the teachers are acting strange. Freddie got told off for walking too close to the forest on his way back from Care of Magical Creatures yesterday."

"I can try to talk to Prissy," Lily said. "She seemed willing to talk to me."

"Okay, and I'll try to pin Sharpe down. He's bound to know something. Course my Dad might be able to tell me everything this weekend." Al looked surprised at this.

"Is he coming to Hogsmede?"

"Yeah. He wants to talk to me alone."

"But you're going to tell us what he says right?"

"Of course." Scor grinned at his friend.

"Let's meet in the Three Broomsticks then after you talk to him."

"Alright," Scor said hoping that whatever his father had to tell him would clear up all the nonsense going on.

The next day Scor woke up early anxious to find out what his father would say. As he pulled on his robes, he noticed a piece of parchment on his bedside table. He picked it up and read:

_You'd better start acting like a Malfoy if you know what's good for you._

_We're watching._

He looked around the room half expecting someone to step out with a wand drawn. _Who could've left this? _He started making a mental list before deciding that it could have been any of the Slytherins. They were all treating him strangely. Hoping that his meeting with his father would shed some light on the matter, he made his way to the common room to meet Lily for breakfast.

"Scor!" She rushed to him holding a piece of parchment similar to the one he had left on his bedside table. He took the paper and read:

_If you want to stay healthy, stick with your own kind. Malfoy's don't love blood traitors. _

_We're watching._

"I got one too," he muttered.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It said something about behaving like a Malfoy."

"Who do you think…"

"Dunno. Could have been anyone."

"Should we tell the headmistress?"

"I want to see what Father has to say first." Her distraught expression pained him. "It's alright, love. Just empty threats. Let's go to breakfast."

She gave a brief nod and took his hand a defiant look in her eyes. On impulse he pulled her to him and kissed her gently. He pulled away and whispered, "You know I love you, Lily?"

"I know. I love you, Scor." Scor felt the familiar tingles that always accompanied those words.

"Come on. Let's get some breakfast."

The line of students heading to Hogsmede stretched through the entrance hall. Everyone seemed anxious to escape the gloomy atmosphere of the castle. Scor walked with Lily, Al, Rose, and Hugo. The crisp air filled his lungs and Lily's hand in his warmed his heart.

"Wish Uncle George hadn't discontinued the extendable ears. I'd sure like to hear what your father says," Al muttered.

"I told you I'll tell you what he says."

"Yeah, but you might forget something or he might swear you to secrecy."

"I just won't swear." Scor said evasively.

"Okay, we'll meet you here at 2 o'clock," Al said coming to a stop in front of the Three Broomsticks. Scor nodded and walked off in the direction of the Hog's Head. The students he passed seemed a bit more cheerful than they had been, but the townspeople seemed uneasy. Several old wizards followed him with their eyes as he pulled open the door to the tavern. Scor blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

He looked over at the dark young wizard tending the bar and saw him point to a narrow door. Scor entered the small room and felt his stomach drop to the floor. _Two _men sat at the table. Draco sat staring off into space beside a smirking Lucius Malfoy.

"Sit down, Scorpius," Lucius barked and Scor dropped into a chair trying to regain his composure. "Your father tells me you have recently acquired a girlfriend." The sneer on the cold face turned Scor's stomach.

"Yes," he said defiantly.

"Such disrespect," Lucius tutted.

"Yes, _sir," _Scor said just as defiantly.

"I would like to suggest," Lucius said smoothly, "that you find someone more_worthy _of a Malfoy."

Scor turned to his father hoping for some help.

"Father, I thought you _liked _Lily." Draco turned empty eyes on his son and adopted a sneer identical to his father's.

"I have tolerated your obsession these years hoping you would eventually come to your senses. She _is _attractive, but her status is unsuitable. Besides, how could I possibly approve of an alliance with my worst enemy?"

Scor's senses were reeling. For a brief moment he wondered if he was asleep having a terrible nightmare brought on by stress. He pinched himself on the leg and the pain wiped away his last hope. He looked back and forth between the two men steeling himself knowing what his decision would mean.

"I love Lily Potter. I'm going to marry her. If you don't like it, I guess you can just disown me." He stared into two pairs of cold grey eyes, but instead of the shouts he had expected, Lucius's lip merely curled into a sinister smile.

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear, Scorpius. You _will _discontinue all contact with the Potter brat or your inheritance will not be the only thing you lose." Scor felt a chill flood his veins. "Do you imagine you can protect her? She _will _be found. One day she will be alone, unprotected, vulnerable, _exposed _and…"

"STOP IT! YOU MONSTER!" Scor lunged across the table at the man in front of him. He felt Draco's strong arms holding him back. "GET OFF ME! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"

"Your own grandfather, Scorpius?" Lucius's voice retained the smooth calm but his expression turned cold. "Heed my warning. If you have not ceased this disgraceful behavior and ended your shameful relationship with that girl in one week, I shall use your little _love _to practice the Unforgivables on."

Scor continued to struggle against Draco. Pain coursed through him mixed with the fire of anger. Lucius stood, the sinister smile still etched on his granite features.

"One week. Come Draco."

Lucius walked out the door and Draco finally released Scor. He sank into the chair emotionally and physically drained. His father followed Lucius, leaving Scor alone with his pain. The thought of Lily being hurt nauseated him. He began to shake violently. He couldn't allow Lucius to harm her, but he couldn't protect her. He had no choice but to let her go, and Lucius knew it.

He sat shaking in the chair for what seemed like hours trying to think of any way he could protect Lily and still be with her. Finally, he looked at his watch and remembered his promise to meet his friends. _What can I tell them?_ He drug himself out of the chair and outside into the street.

Happy voices mocked his pain as he trudged to the Three Broomsticks and pushed the door open. He mentally shook himself and tried to feign an air of excitement which contradicted his very soul.

"Hey," he said dropping into a seat beside Lily in what he hoped was a nonchalant way.

"So what did he say?" Al said eagerly.

"There's some evil git threatening students." _Which is not far from the truth,_Scor thought.

"Are they trying to catch him?" Rose said looking worried.

_I wish. _Scor remembered the Potters having to go in to the ministry that day on the platform.

"I guess so."

"We should help," Lily said.

"NO!"

"But, we could lay a trap for him…maybe lure him to reveal himself."

"No! You can't! Lily, it's too dangerous. Please…just promise me you won't go looking for trouble."

Lily looked at him with her eyebrow raised.

"Well, we can keep our eyes open anyway," Hugo said breaking the silence stretching between Scor and Lily. The others agreed and began discussing who they thought it might be leaving Scor alone with his thoughts.

He watched the redhead next to him committing every expression to memory. _One week, but how do you tell the one you love goodbye?_


	9. Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Lily had just about decided that boys were unfathomable. She sat in her Charms class the Wednesday after her first "date" with her new boyfriend drawing hearts around the initials S.M. and L.P. wondering what Scor was thinking. The troubled expression he carried into the three broomsticks had not left his face since. All week he had appeared distracted almost to the point of paranoia—glaring down any passing Slytherins, searching the shadows as they walked hand in hand through the halls, pulling her into dark corners for brief kisses that somehow never erased the look of torture on his face.

She had tried talking to him about what had happened at the Hogs Head because it was obvious he had not told them the entire story, but somehow he evaded her questions every time. This morning she had resolved to make him talk, but he hadn't shown up to breakfast or to walk her to her classes.

A paper airplane landed lightly on her desk. She looked around to see who had tossed it, but every face was glued to the Professor who was demonstrating how to perform a proper summoning charm. She pulled the creased parchment open under her desk and saw a crudely drawn picture of a potted lily crushing a small scorpion. Underneath the words, _you're killing him_, were scribbled with an uneven scrawl. She turned around again hoping to catch someone observing her reaction. No such luck.

About that time the bell rang and she shoved the parchment into her bag with her books and quill and hurried off to the common room to find Scor before dinner. He sat in a plush leather armchair in front of the fire staring into the flames. He jumped as though the flames had scorched him when she bent over and kissed his cheek.

"Oh, Lily…"

"Scor, we need to talk." He inclined his head without a word and she drug him to his feet. She pulled him out of the common room and down the hall to one of the empty dungeons. After snogging him senseless she took a seat on one of the chairs scattered around the room and he followed suite.

"Scor, you've been acting really strange since Hogmede. Can't you tell me what happened with your dad?"

A dark shadow passed over his face. His blond hair fell in his eyes as he stared at his shoes as though trying to drill a hole in them. She thought for a minute that he would refuse to answer, but he finally looked up with a sigh.

"Dad wasn't the only one there."

"But who…"

"Lucius."

"What?"

"He told me to break up with you."

"But your Dad…"

"He just stood there and agreed with everything the git said. He told me he would hurt you if I didn't."

A memory of two piercing grey eyes filled with evil passed through her mind and she shivered, but Lily wasn't a Potter for nothing. She squared her shoulders and looked her depressed boyfriend in the eye.

"I'm not afraid of him. Those are just idle threats meant to frighten you into submission. Who cares what he says, do you?"

"No," he muttered.

"You weren't going to break up with me were you?"

"I don't know. I don't know what to do. I don't want anyone to hurt you, Lily." Here he looked into her eyes and the pain she saw there pierced her heart. She went to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Then don't break up with me. That would hurt me a lot worse than anything your barmy grandfather could do." He pulled her closer in response.

"Lily…I think he's gone around the bend. I mean he was talking like a…Deatheater. I've heard stories about things he did in the past. The git told me himself—horrible things. I don't think he would blink an eyelash at killing someone…killing _you_."

She couldn't suppress a shudder. Could anyone really be that awful? She had heard some stories of the wars. Her father didn't like reliving the terrible past, but she knew her history. Somehow those times all seemed a bit surreal to her. She had never actually thought about anyone having killed someone. That Lucius Malfoy would be capable of such a thing she didn't question. His intentions in the library were crystal clear. _What should we do?_

"I…I think it's the only thing we can do." She noticed the avoidance of the words "break up".

"Couldn't we just _say_ we broke up—stage a big fight, meet on the sly?"

"I…"

"We could have a big argument in the Great Hall where everyone could see. You could write your dad and tell him you broke it off, and we can use my cloak to sneak out and see each other."

A light came into the sullen grey eyes.

"You think that would work?"

"Of course!" Now a real smile dawned on his pale face. He stood up and started pacing the room muttering to himself as he crossed back and forth in front of her.

"Yes, of course. Anyone who might report to Lucius would see us fight and think it was over. The cloak would keep anyone from seeing us. We could use that room Dad told me about to meet in." He was completely absorbed in planning it out and she smiled as she watched him. "We can have the fight at the Halloween feast this Friday so everyone will be sure to see. You're brilliant!" He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She felt the warmth coursing through her veins and was glad she had convinced him that they could work it out somehow. Nothing, not Lucius Malfoy, not even Voldemort himself was going to keep her from Scorpius.

That Friday Lily made her way to the Great Hall dreading what was about to happen. Although she had suggested the farce, she hated, even in jest, saying the things she was about to say to her love. She sat down next to him adopting the cold glare she had practiced beforehand.

"Did you apologize?" she said in a voice meant to carry down the table.

"Apologize?" the scorn in his voice was so convincing it startled her for a moment. "Why should I apologize? Didn't I tell you I want nothing to do with that sort?" His raised voice carried well and several people turned to observe the drama unfolding before them.

"Oh?" she threw herself into the role with fervor hating all the while the cold stare in the eyes that always reminded her of mercury when they gazed down at her in love. "and what sort is that?" A silence seemed to descend on the vast room as those from other table stopped eating to stare in wonder at the quarrelling couple who had seemed so in love the day before.

"_Mudbloods!" _The whole room seemed to gasp simultaneously. Lily felt her face turn red despite the fact that she knew all this was merely an act. Standing in feigned fury she drew her hand back and slapped him soundly. She could see the red hand mark appear instantly on his white cheek and longed to cry out and kiss the hurt that she had caused him, but she drew herself up for the last scene and making sure the whole room could hear.

"Well, if that's the way you feel about it, _we're through!" _and she turned and fled the room allowing the tears to flow freely. She found an empty classroom and slumped against the wall trying to calm herself. _Imagine if that had been real! How could I ever lose him?_

Several hours later she stood in front of an odd painting of dancing trolls waiting for Scor beneath the cloak. They had decided it wouldn't seem odd for him to walk around alone and no one would have to know she was there. Finally she heard the steady steps that announced his presence and turned to see a very disheveled Scor.

"You there?" he whispered.

"Yes," she felt a catch in her throat. His hair stuck out all over the place, his robes had been torn in several place and he was sporting a black eye similar to the one she had graced him with her first year. He paced silently in front of a space of blank wall and she wondered if he was trying to calm his anger, but after his third pass, a door appeared and he opened it quickly letting her pass inside before closing it with a decided click.

"Oh, Scor!" she pulled the cloak off throwing it carelessly over the back of a sofa before peppering his face with kisses. "I'm so sorry." She kissed the hand print on his face gently.

"Your brother and cousin seemed to think one slap wasn't sufficient, so they added the black eye and several other bruises."

"Oh, no! We should have told them!"

"No, it's better this way. It would have looked strange if they hadn't retaliated."

She pulled him over to the sofa and made him lay his head in her lap, gently brushing his platinum locks out of his eyes.

"Are you sure this was worth it?" she asked.

"Of course. At least I can still be with you." Lily smiled into his once-again mercury eyes. "Not everyone beat me up you know. The Slytherins all patted me on the back and shook my hand. Well…maybe not _all_ of them, but most of the seventh years. Nott wants me to meet him tomorrow. Says he has something to tell me."

"Oh! He might tell you what Prissy was talking about."

"Yeah, that's what I think. We'll meet here tomorrow and I'll tell you what he says."

"Alright." She kissed him on the forehead and they sat listening to the fire crackling away trying to forget all about Lucius Malfoy and the Slytherins.


	10. Death be not Proud

It had only been two days since the "big break-up", but Scor was beginning to feel as if it hadn't been such a great idea after all. He hadn't taken into consideration all the acting he would be expected to do every minute of every hour of every day. Scor felt stretched to the limit so it was no wonder that he practically bit Sharpe's head off when he came up behind him in a dark corridor after Transfiguration.

"Hey sorry, mate." Zabini shuffled his feet and looked around uncomfortably.

"It's alright, I just, have a lot on my mind."

"Yeah." They both started walking again, Zabini watching the shadows. "So…you really broke up with Potter then?"

"Yeah. It's over." Scor tried to keep the desolation out of his voice, but he wasn't sure that his friend was convinced.

"Too bad, that—she seemed really…sweet." Scor looked around. The dark shadows in the corridors always felt as if they were spying on him now. Was Sharpe trying to get information out of him, too?

"So where have you been hiding lately. I haven't talked to you since term started."

"Oh, around—you haven't…that is…are you joining the New Order?" Scor looked around at the terrified look on his mate's face and remembered his talk with Nott.

"_So Malfoy, now that you've finally regained your sanity," Scor could barely keep his fist from flying up to meet Nott's face. "we have a little group we'd like you to join."_

"_Oh? What group is that?" The stray thought that maybe this group was connected to what the Potters were trying to discover passed through his mind._

"_Just a group of like minded witches and wizards. Those who want to see the purity of blood maintained."_

"_You mean Deatheaters." The flat sound of Scor's voice seemed to rile Nott._

"_That's yesterday's news, this is a new order." Scor thought of refusing, but the idea that he might uncover something that would help the Potters kept him quiet. If he joined, he could find out who was at the bottom of this and stamp it out before anything bad happened._

"_Alright, I'll see what it's about."_

"_Great. I'll let you know when the next meeting will be. You've already covered the initiation."_

"_Oh?"_

"_Getting rid of that blood traitor, Potter," and with that the surly boy walked off down the hall leaving a steaming Scor behind._

Scor considered telling Zabini his plan about infiltrating this 'New Order'. Could he trust his old mate? Scor wasn't sure, and he didn't want to take any chances. It wasn't just his safety at stake.

"Yeah, I guess. Got through initiation like a breeze."

"Oh." The disappointment on Shape's face was unmistakable. A sense of uncertainty shot through Scor. Maybe he should have told Sharpe the truth. "Okay, well…I'll see ya later." He watched the back of his mate and wished he had said something else.

The gloom permeating the castle didn't dissipate with Scor's breakup. In fact, the shroud seemed to thicken regardless of the fact that the Slytherin's sneers had become smiles. Scor felt that he would have given up the approval of the sea of green clad snakes just to have his friendship with the Potters and Weasleys back. He had not only lost his public relationship with Lily, but in the process he had lost those he considered brothers. Al and Hugo refused to speak to him, and he didn't dare tell them the truth in case it should somehow get back to his grandfather. James had written him a long letter declaring that the next time he saw him he would not hesitate to cast every curse and jinx he knew at him and warned him to practice his defensive spells, but the worst cut of all was the letter sent by Lily's father.

_Scor,_

_The boys tell me that you and Lily have recently quarreled. Knowing how strongly Lily cares for you and you for her, this came as quite a shock, but I think I might understand the problem. History has a way of repeating itself, so let me tell you a story that might help you to keep from making an awful mistake._

_You know the story of Severus Snape's being spy for Dumbledore throughout the war. You might have even heard the reason for his doing so though I'm sure it is not common knowledge. You see, Severus loved my mother from the time they were children, but Severus made the greatest mistake of his life with just that one foul word, Mudblood. He lost any chance he had to love Lily Evans that day, and I don't think you want the same thing to happen to you. _

_I have always seen such a difference between you and your family, Scor. You have something far greater than purity of blood, and I was honored to know that you cared for Lily. I hope you will reconsider your actions. Lily still loves you I am sure. Please don't make the same mistakes as past generations have done._

_Your friend,_

_Harry Potter_

The disappointment was obvious. It cut through Scor leaving his heart in shreds. He had always looked up to Harry for overcoming so many odds to get to where he was, and his success gave Scor hope that he could do the same. All the little attentions father's normally gave to their sons that Draco seemed incapable of performing were carried out with ease by Mr. Potter. He never had to ask for affection even though it embarrassed him at times. To have this man disappointed in him was more than he could bear. Scor contacted Harry that very night via floo and told him the entire story.

Scor sat in the dark classroom Nott had told him they would be having a meeting in three weeks later. Harry had been relieved and concerned when he had found out the reason for their 'fake breakup'. He tried to keep Scor from putting himself in danger, but Scor was certain that he could get to the bottom of this 'new group'. The air in the room chilled him to the bone. The shadows appeared to be more than lack of light but rather a mass of evil looming over the proceedings of this gathering. The group sat in a circle surrounding a sixth year Slytherin named Justin Thanatos. He was to be initiated tonight and Scor wondered if what he was about to observe would cause him to have to reveal his true intentions before finding out anything important. There was no way he could sit idly by and watch anyone get hurt.

Justin sat in the chair and seemed quite content to be the center of attention. His keen piercing eyes held no fear. His bearing exuded confidence and pride. Scor turned to see Nott whispering to Avery and then with a gesture he brought the group to order.

"Thanatos, are you prepared to enter the New Order, to strive to maintain the sanctity of pure blood, to uphold the superiority of the magical race, to fight the amalgamation of muggles and mudbloods into a world not meant for them?"

"I am," he said with a defiant look.

"Are you prepared to prove your loyalty to this assembly?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Your task is…" Nott pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket and tapped the magic seal with his wand. It fell open and Nott's eyes moved back and forth over the print. His face drained of all color as he lifted his eyes to a haughty looking Justin. "You have to kill a mudblood." A panic rose up in Scor at these whispered words. Everyone in the group seemed shocked into a stasis except Thanatos. He pushed a lock of dark hair from his eyes and his lips curled in a cruel smirk.

"Any one I like?" Scor saw Nott nod and gulp. "Excellent." Thanatos rose from the chair and hurried out of the room apparently anxious to complete his task. The click of the door behind him seemed to break whatever hold had been upon the startled group.

"He has to _kill?_" Someone whispered. "I _never_ thought it would come to that!" another replied. "Do you think we should stop him?" "I'm not sure this is such a good idea." The muttering increased until Nott raised his slightly shaking hand.

"We should get back to the common room before we're missed," he croaked. "We'll meet again in two weeks."

They all stood and Scor listened to the murmurings of dissent among the group. He followed slightly behind Nott and Avery trying to listen to their conversation without being noticed.

"I'm not sure Theo. This is pretty serious. I mean pulling a few pranks is one thing, but _killing!_" Scor saw Avery's white face as they passed a patch of moonlight shining through the window.

"Well…Dad did it. I mean…they're really just like apes aren't they?"

"Muggles maybe, but the mudbloods can do magic just like us!"

"Well they have muggle blood though. I mean, who's to say they aren't just _faking_ it?"

"That's ridiculous. I think this is getting out of hand. I mean…I don't want to end up in Azkaban like my father and grandfather."

"Well you can't back out now, you know what they're going to do to…" At that moment Scor's shoe scuffed loudly and both boys turned.

"Oh, Malfoy, it's you."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Avery said as they reached the blank space of wall and passed into the common room.

"Yeah, see ya." Nott walked off to his dorm and Scor stood beside the fire wondering what 'they' were going to do."

Scor told Lily what he had discovered the very next day. They stayed up until the wee hours of the night debating whether to tell someone about Thanatos or to keep it a secret in hopes that Scor could somehow circumvent him.

"Scor we just can't take that chance! I mean, he's going to _kill_ someone."

"You don't know that. Besides, how could they do anything about it. It's just my word against his."

"We should at least tell my Dad."

"He's not here. We need someone who can tail Thanatos and keep him from hurting anyone without him finding out about it."

Lily looked off into the fire and Scor watched the emotions play out over her face: concern, anger, sadness, fear, and finally determination.

"You're right. We'll do it."

"_We'll_—you mean _I'll_. I'm not having you mess with this and get hurt." Scor saw the stern resolution in her brown eyes.

"No, I meant what I said. Here," she handed him the invisibility cloak that her brother had given her to make sure she 'had fun' at school since Al had been given the map. "you can use this to tail him."

"What about you?"

"I have other ways of sneaking around." He saw her mischievous grin and couldn't help but worry. Nothing he said would keep her from helping. All he could do was tail Thanatos and hope he wouldn't try anything when Lily was around.

"You're such a little vixen, you know that?"

"Of course," and he settled down to enjoy a long snogging session.


	11. How to Tail a Slytherin

No matter how much Scor argued, Lily refused to let him be the only one putting himself in danger. The endless list of reasons—'he's a bloke…how can you tail him _everywhere?'_, 'you gave me the cloak to keep me safe, but what about you?', 'what would happen if he caught you?'—they made no difference to Lily. Scor had already followed him for two days; Lily's turn had come.

She felt the fur pushing out of her skin, felt her body shrinking, felt her senses heightening and chuckled inwardly. _Thank you, James. _If her older brother could see her now, he would be shocked that his scheme for following in his grandfather's footsteps had caused his sister to plunge so deeply into rule-breaking herself. James had never accomplished becoming an anamagus; Lily, on the other hand, had more than admiration for her predecessors to fuel her determination. As she padded across the cool stone toward the boy's dormitories, she reveled at finally beating her brothers at something.

The shadows could not conceal as much from her improved night vision. She saw Thanatos pulling his door closed quietly. He passed by her without a glance, and she followed in the shadows. She barely managed to slip out the stone entrance to the common room without getting her tail caught. He hurried down the empty corridors. Not once did he look around to see if anyone followed him. _Overconfident much? _

He crossed the entrance hall and pulled opened the door with a possessive air. Lily once again just managed to save her precious tail. _This is almost too easy. _As she flitted through the shadows making sure to stay as close to him as possible, she wondered at his impertinence. He strode directly to the Forbidden Forest without a concern of being detected. _Does he think he's invisible? Maybe he's used a charm or something, and I'm only able to see him because I'm an animal. _

The sounds of the forest swallowed her as she slunk through the brambles and around the tree trunks bordering the path. The smell of damp earth, leaves, and Thanatos filled her nostrils. They always amazed her—the smells. Like olfactory paths each leading to a distinct person or creature. She didn't have to stay close to Thanatos because he left a trail of breadcrumbs behind him that smelled like a combination of cedarwood, vetiver, and body odor. She made a mental note to tell Scorpius never to wear _Royal Spice. _

Lily had just about decided that Thanatos planned to walk all the way through the forest when he finally stopped in the middle of a clearing. The trees seemed to have been pushed aside by something larger than life. _Grawp. _An eerie green light hovered in the air. In the center of the circle of bowing trees stood a man wearing a long black cloak with a hood. Lily's heart raced. Even before he uttered the first word, Lily knew who this man was. _Juniper, soap, and spring water with a tinge of musk. Draco Malfoy._

Lily could hardly concentrate on the two in front of her. Their whispered voices wafted over to her clear as a bell, but her mind filled with a furious debate. _Could I be wrong? Did I make a mistake? Maybe it's Lucius wearing Draco's cloak, _but her senses told her otherwise. She listened to Draco's voice (_it had to be his, she would recognize it anywhere_) telling Thanatos how to kill his victim with her head spinning. She remembered how kind Draco had been to her while she stayed at Malfoy manor. _The Imperius Curse. That has to be it, or am I just easily fooled. Could I have been wrong about him all along?_

She sat there in the shadows long after Thanatos had turned back to the castle and Draco had turned toward Hogsmede. For the first time she could understand some of what her father had told her about the war with Voldemort. _'You never knew who to trust.' _She had hoped that once Lucius was out of the way, Scor and she would be free to pursue their relationship again. She had never doubted Draco's blessing. Uncle Ron had always told them how awful Draco Malfoy was, but she had ignored him chalking it up to old rivalries.

She couldn't remember how she made it back to the castle. Everything seemed out of focus. When she flopped onto her four-poster bed at last, she could only curl up in a little ball and silently curse the world that seemed driven by hatred. Is this what her father had to endure all those years? Her mother? Uncle Ron? Aunt Hermoine? At last sleep finally found her but comfort would search in vain much longer.

The next day brought no relief from the disappointments of the previous night. After all the effort she had put into following Thanatos, she still had not discovered who he had targeted. She didn't know whether to tell Scorpius about his father or not. Lucius's behavior bothered him enough. How would he take the news that his father was in league with 'the devil'? Lily decided he had enough to deal with.

For weeks she followed Thanatos every night. Several times she smelled the familiar scent of Sandalwood and Cinnamon and knew Scor was nearby. After a month she started to worry that Thanatos would do something during the Christmas break when neither she nor Scorpius would be able to stop him. As she sat alone at breakfast on the Friday before she and Scor would be separated for Christmas trying to think of how she might be able to find out who Thanatos was after, she saw Professor Longbottom hurrying up to the Heads table.

He looked pale as the ghost of Sir Nicholas hovering behind him as he whispered to Professor Lovegood. Lily watched her face drain of its color as well, and then she stood and followed him out of the Great Hall. Lily didn't waste any time. She grabbed her bag and hurried after them wondering if Scor had noticed as well. She slipped behind a tapestry hiding a passageway and quickly transformed leaving her bag hidden in a dark corner.

Uncle Neville had led Aunt Luna out onto the grounds. Fortunately, they had both been distracted enough to leave the door ajar. She slipped through quickly and hurried along under shrubbery and behind low walls to greenhouses. She slipped into the glass building and hid behind a potted Venemous Tentacula.

Both professors knelt bent over something on the ground. Their robes and cloaks billowed out around them hiding what they stared at so intently. Lily took a chance and scampered across the floor to hide behind a potted Mimbulous Mimbletonia that afforded a better view. When she turned to look, the sight that met her eyes made her blood run cold. Lily stared into the unseeing eyes of Prissy Pucey. A tendril of Devil's Snare had wrapped itself around her throat several times like a sickly green necklace. Red marks surrounded the vine where Prissy had tried to pull herself free and succeeded only in scratching herself. She finally registered some of what Professor Longbottom said to the Headmistress.

"…the thing is, I don't think this was accident. I mean, I don't keep Devil's Snare in this greenhouse. I keep it under lock and key."

"I know."

"Why would she have been in here in the first place? Prissy _hated _Herbology."

"We need to talk to Harry. Things are getting worse."

They both stood up. Neville levitated Prissy and she floated in front of them as they headed back to the castle.

If Lily could have cried in her present form there would have been a puddle at her tiny paws by now. Instead she slunk along behind the pots toward the door. She sprinted toward the door and rammed into something hard.

"Ow!" A muffled voice said from somewhere above her. "A fox?"

Before she could decide which way to run a hand caught her by the scruff of the neck and she watched as Scorpius appeared from underneath the cloak. She transformed and threw herself into his arms.

"Lily?"

"Oh, Scor, she's dead. It's all my fault! I couldn't find out who he had targeted." The sobs choked her and the tears stung her eyes.

"It's not your fault. Shhhh. It's Thanatos's fault. He did it."

"We've got to stop them. Somehow we have to."

His only answer was to pull her closer.


	12. Have a Yule That's Cruel

**A/N: I want to thank all those who have taken the time to review regularly. Your reviews mean a lot to me. It helps knowing what works and what doesn't, and I always appreciate the encouragement to keep on writing. Thank you all. And without further ado…**

The death of Prissy Pucey hung over the castle like a cloud. Scor could not convince Lily that she had done everything she could. She seemed to be in shock. Scor didn't know how to feel. Sure, he had heard about cruelty such as this from a young age. He should have been calloused to it by now, but he found himself torn between wanting to kill Thanatos and wanting to blame himself. Not being able to comfort Lily in public hurt him most of all. They spent most of their evenings in the Room of Requirement the few days before Christmas just holding each other.

Scor had to force himself not to pull Lily into his arms when he saw her walking onto the train like a convict going to be beheaded. He found himself a compartment at the end of the train and cursed his rotten luck when Nott decided to join him. Nott looked sick to his stomach and extremely pale. When he looked Scor's way he seemed able to see right through him.

"I might be seeing you over break." Nott said to Scor with a shiver.

"Really?" Scor looked out the window and tried to ignore him. Nott just nodded and played with his hands.

"You still have that tree house in the woods behind the manor?"

Scor nodded as he watched the landscape passing by more and more quickly.

"Your dad and them ever find out about it?"

Scor shook his head. _Must he keep blathering on?_

Nott seemed to have read his mind because he didn't speak for the remainder of the journey. When they arrived at the platform, his mother stood there looking around scornfully at the other parents. _Well, what a surprise. Dad must be out killing someone._

Scor watched Albus and Lily head over to Ginny out of the corner of his eye. It took a great deal of restraint not to look at Lily, run over to her, take her in his arms and snog her in front of everyone.

"All that red hair," His mother's voice broke into his thoughts. "How could you have ever fancied such a ghastly red-headed little thing?"

Scor clenched his fists.

"Your father once said he thought that Ginny Weasley was cute. I think he must have been cunfunded." She laughed and several people looked over. "Maybe you were too, eh?"

Scor heard a ringing in his ears. She looked over at the Potters again and sneered.

"_I _never could see anything in her," she said as if talking to herself. "Those big brown cow eyes, all those freckles—leggy little thing if you ask me."

"Well I didn't! Let's go." Pansy seemed taken aback at first but soon recovered. Scor chanced on last glance before he apparated away. Ginny and Harry held Lily tight as the tears streamed down her cheeks. Just before he disappeared, he saw Harry look up and meet his eye.

The usual quiet mausoleum waited at the end of the pinching tunnel. He hurried down the drive as his mother struggled along behind him in her high heeled pumps calling for him to slow down. He ignored her and headed straight to his room. Everything in the room reminded him of Lily from the posters on the wall to the bed where she had slept beside him. He threw himself down on it and buried his head in the blanket hoping to catch her scent lingering there, but the house elves had done their duty diligently. No trace of Lily remained. He was trying to decide when it would be safest to use his mirror when he heard a knock.

"It's open."

Draco strode into the room.

"Your grandfather would like to see you in the drawing room." Scor wondered if it would be possible to hex him. He still hadn't mastered non-verbal spells.

"Fine."

He followed _the git _down the hall and into the drawing room where Lucius sat nursing a glass of Firewhiskey.

"Ahhh, Scorpius. Come, come, sit down and join me in a libation."

"No thanks." _Getting tipsy around a psychopath—bad idea._

"I hope you are not missing your little _girlfriend."_

"What's there to miss?" Lucius's laughter sent tendrils of fire through his veins.

"Too true. Very good. Very good. And what do you think of my little club?"

"Club?"

"The New Order of course."

"That's yours?" Rage coursed through him like waves continually crashing on the shore. Bit by bit they eroded his composure. _He did it! He killed Prissy just as surely as if he held the wand!_

"Of course. Did you believe it to be some 'kiddy club'?" He snickered to himself. "You will see Scorpius. You will see. Soon the purity of blood will once again dominate the wizarding world. Pure bloods will take their rightful place over the inferior mudbloods and muggles."

"What about Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter." He sneered. "Yes, the 'luck-child'. Perhaps his luck has run out at last." With an evil grin he tossed back his Firewhiskey and dismissed Scor with a wave of his hand.

Scor headed back to his room. _I'll call her tonight. I have to tell her._

Scor sat in his bed holding the mirror and watching the clock on the wall tick the hours away. Midnight—did he dare try yet? No, better wait till one at least. He looked around the room and noticed his broom propped up in the corner. _Wish I could just hop on it, ride on over there, and carry her off. We could go to Scotland and get married and then move to Australia or something. _He thought of the look on Lucius's face when he said Lily's father's name. No, too many lives depended on getting rid of Lucius Malfoy. He couldn't just leave them all to sort it out alone. What about all the other 'Prissys'. Perhaps things would have been easier if he had just ended up an evil git like the rest of his family. The picture of Lily beside his bed smiled at him. _I know, I know…I would never have fallen in love with you. _He smiled, checked the clock again, and whispered, "Lily," at the mirror.

"Scor!" She must have been waiting for him to call. Her hair fell in her eyes and he longed run his fingers through it. "How are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Lily I need to talk to your dad. It's important."

"Okay." She sat the mirror down and for awhile all he saw was the ceiling. Finally Harry's face appeared in the mirror.

"Hey, Scor."

"Hello, Mr. Potter. There's something I have to tell you. I think…that is I know…what I mean is…"

"Just spit it out."

"My grandfather is plotting to kill you."

The silence scared Scor. He thought for a moment that Harry would not speak.

"I know."

"You _know?"_

"We've been tracing him for some time. He's rounded up all the former Death Eaters who aren't in Azkaban."

"There's a group at Hogwarts. He said he started it. They've already killed a girl."

"I know."

"Well can't you do anything? Arrest him? Throw him in Azkaban?"

"We don't have any proof. It's his word against ours. He's just as slippery as before."

"What sort of proof do you need? I'll get you the proof."

"Scor, this is dangerous. I don't want you putting yourself in that kind of danger."

"_TELL ME!"_

Harry sighed and Scor thought that he would refuse. "We need to know what his plans are so we can catch him in the act. If you can find out where he means to strike…"

"Done."

"Scor…"

"I've got to go now. I don't want to chance being caught. Tell Lily I love her. I'll call when I've found something."

Harry grinned and nodded and Scor shoved the small mirror between his mattresses. Having to spend time with Lucius would be insufferable, but if it meant saving Lily's dad and perhaps Lily herself, he would do it.

It was easier than he thought it would be to keep an eye on Lucius. For one thing, he still had the cloak Lily had let him borrow stuffed in the bottom of his trunk. Aside from that, Lucius seemed to be more than willing to include him in his 'evil dealings'. At night Scor would slip out of his room and stand sentinel at the door to Lucius's study. He didn't dare try entering the room knowing how many wards Lucius had put on it, but he heard Lucius talking to himself continuously.

_The prat has completely gone round the bend, _he thought after listening to an hour long one-sided conversation about how much Lucius hated Harry Potter. He thought his grandfather must have a split personality because he seemed to answer himself quite frequently in these dialogues.

"Yes, but he must be drawn away from his safety zone. Get him where he is weakest." Scor could hear the sound of him pacing back and forth across the room as he spoke.

"The boy would never allow it." Stomp, stomp, stomp.

"I think he still has feelings for that…" Stomp, stomp, stomp.

"What good would that do?" Stomp, stomp, stomp.

He always spoke of Harry as 'the boy'. At least he felt pretty sure it was Harry. The conversations, however, made no sense to him. He could not glean enough information from them to determine what Lucius had planned. Still he continued to spend hours in front of the study door every night listening to the barmy git go on and on.

Halfway into the break Nott showed up at the manor. He seemed scared that something might eat him. He insisted on staying in the room next to Scor's no matter how much Scor insisted that he would like a less 'girly' room better.

The next afternoon while the adults sat conversing in the drawing room, Nott pulled Scor out the door and drug him off to the tree house. Scor's tree house was one of the few things he had ever done without the knowledge of one of the adults living in the manor. As a child, he had imagined that he would run away and live in the woods where Lucius's evil stories and Pansy's angry looks could not reach him. He built the tree house with the help of a muggle from the nearby village. The fact that he had allowed a muggle on Malfoy property alone would have caused his grandfather to hex him into oblivion. After his third year at Hogwarts he had added some spells to protect it from discovery. Only Sharpe and Nott knew about it. He had showed it to them one summer when he had become desperate for friends.

The old oak blended in with the surrounding trees, and the wards made the tree house look like just another branch. When Scor pulled down the rope ladder, the only entrance to the tree house, the little shack appeared as though it were pulled from inside the trunk of the tree. They both climbed up into it, and Scor gazed around at his favorite haunt. A few chocolate frog wrappers littered the wooden floor, an old blanket and a lumpy pillow crammed into a wooden box sat against the wall, and a few Quidditch posters held on by magic were the only furnishings. Scor sat against the wall and pulled his legs to his chest. _I need to use an expansion charm on it, _he thought as he looked around. Nott sat against the opposite wall.

"So why did you want to come here?"

"We can talk without being heard."

"Okay, talk." He watched Nott wring his hands.

"Scor, I think…I mean…well…the club."

"What about it."

"It's getting out of hand. I mean," he looked around and moved a little closer. "I never thought we would be killing anyone! It was supposed to be a way to get our status back…you know…"

"No, I don't."

"We're the aristocracy! They're just commoners."

"If that's how you feel, sounds like you're in the right club."

"No! I mean…you were right." Scor looked at him wondering what he could possibly be talking about. "What you said third year…when we were trying Quidditch players…we're no different from the Death Eaters! I never wanted to be a Death Eater. I don't want to kill anyone! Mum's told me about those times. When the Death Eaters were in control everyone was afraid, even the purebloods. I want out!"

"I don't know what to tell you."

"Look, I know you didn't want in this in the first place. We all know you still love Lily."

"What…how?"

"I saw you at the greenhouse." Scor mentally kicked himself. He should have known he couldn't hide his feelings. They were just too strong.

"Does _he _know?"

"I think so." Scor clenched his fists. "I didn't tell him, Scor. Other people have seen you looking at her, and I think Thanatos saw you talking to her in the hall one night. He's the one who told, anyway. I had to warn you. They're on to you. If you don't do something quick they might hurt you…or Lily."

"Is that their plan!"

"I'm not sure. I don't know of anything yet."

Scor sat there clenching his fists, clenching his jaw, mentally screaming. What could he do now?

"Scor…I'm sorry."

"No, I'm glad you told me."

Scor leaned his head against the wooden wall and tried to think. How could he save Harry? How could he get rid of Lucius? How could he help Lily?

The next day Lucius called him into his study and stared at him for what seemed like hours to Scor.

"Scorpius, I need to know where your loyalties lie."

"I…"

"I know you are still involved with that muggle loving fool's daughter."

"No, I…"

"You think I do not have eyes?"

"It's not that, it's…"

"Scorpius, Scorpius, Scorpius…I _understand." _Scor felt a chill run down his spine. "You're a young man. Of course a pretty face would attract you. We all have needs after all." Scor felt heat wash over him. _Does he think I'm that shallow! _"But now I think your infatuation might actually be put to use."

"I…" Lucius held up his hand and Scor ground his teeth.

"I am making you the leader of my little club."

"What?"

"I want someone I can _trust _to be in control at Hogwarts. You may have your little fling with the Potter girl. Draw her in. Turn her against her family. I think she will be very useful indeed."

Scor left the study feeling sick. _What next._


	13. Frenzied Frustration

Lily walked down the corridor trying to resist the urge to scream out in frustration. _Three days—three days we've been back and not a word! _Lily had stayed up until two o'clock in the morning each night, but her mirror stayed silent even when she called into it several times. Scor didn't just ignore her at night. He refused to look at her when they passed in the hall which she supposed was to be expected. He also refused to show up at the Room of Requirement no matter how long she waited which was downright insufferable. Lack of sleep had already taken its toll. Albus and Rose both avoided her after a particularly eccentric performance during which she compared them to the Giant Squid and a Flobberworm successively. _I'm going to call into the mirror tonight until he answers. I don't care if I lose my voice in the process!_

She stomped down the corridor to the dungeons and passed Thanatos with a group of his friends. A chill crept up her spine when she caught the leer he sent her direction. The sight of Prissy's cold, pale body lying on the greenhouse floor still startled her awake from what little sleep she managed to snatch. The sight of Thanatos standing there gloating did nothing to ease the rage inside her.

Lily banged into her dorm room and threw her bag onto her bed. She didn't realize she had interrupted Rebecca and her friends until she had pulled the curtains around her four-poster and heard them whispering.

"What's her problem?"

"Probably upset about Prissy. They were sort of friends, weren't they?"

"Yeah. I heard he's going to do it again," Vanessa's voice rose a bit.

"Thanatos?"

"Yeah."

"Who?" _Was that a quaver in Rebecca's voice?_

"I heard…somebody said…that boy Thomas."

"The seeker?"

"Yeah. He's a mudblood."

Lily felt her heart begin to pound. _Thomas! _Pound pound pound. _He's asked me to try out for the Quidditch team every year since first! _Pound pound pound. _He's Dean Thomas's son! _Pound pound pound. _What am I going to do! _

Lily's thoughts continued to whirl around inside her cramped brain throughout dinner. For the first time she didn't notice Scor's lack of attention. That night she even forgot her resolve to hound him on the mirrors. She lay awake through the night wondering how she might be able to prevent another murder.

For three weeks Lily followed Thanatos everywhere—sometimes as a fox, sometimes as a girl. This new activity helped keep her mind off the fact that she had only spoken to Scorpius twice. The first time she managed to get a response on the mirror—she remembered to hound him the very next night—he told her he had just been busy with the stupid club issue. The second encounter wasn't any more reassuring.

"You never talk to me anymore!"

"The Slytherins are always around! What do you want me to do—get you killed?"

"No…I just…miss you."

"I miss you, too."

"Can't we meet in the Room of Requirement?"

"Too risky…Avery's seen me in that corridor twice. I think he's starting to wonder what's up."

She had to admit, in retrospect, that she had been a little whiney. In order to take her mind off her misery, she redoubled her efforts to find out what Thanatos was planning and stop him. She even went as far as curling up under his bed as a fox one night in case he happened to talk in his sleep. Tonight he seemed particularly anxious as Lily tailed him to one of the empty classrooms he frequented. She hated the deathly silence in the castle at night. As she moved from shadow to shadow in the form of a fox, she longed for the bustle of students making their way to classes.

Thanatos had been coming to this unused classroom every day this week. Lily couldn't really tell what he got up to in there. From her vantage point on the floor, it seemed he did nothing but pace circles in the middle of the room, but as she slipped through the door, Lily could see tonight would be different. In the center of the room where Thanatos normally paced, Thomas lay unconscious on the hard stone floor.

The rise and fall of Thomas's chest gave Lily hope that something might still be done to avert catastrophe. She tracked Thanatos's progress around the room as she tried to determine the best course of action.

"Time to decrease the mudblood population," Thanatos chuckled and pulled a dagger from under his cloak. The blade glowed an eerie green in the shadowy room. Thanatos knelt beside Thomas.

Lily reacted instantly. Not stopping to consider spells or plans, she transformed in mid-leap and threw herself on Thanatos. One minute his hand was moving toward Thomas's throat as if in slow motion; the next minute she had the dagger in her hand having snatched it off the floor where it fell when she tackled the vicious boy. Stone pressed into the flesh of her arm as she struggled under Thanatos's weight. She held the knife overhead out of his reach and pushed against his chest with her other arm. He grabbed her wrist and wrenched her arm around. The greenish blade moved closer and closer to Lily's throat as she pushed with all her might against Thanatos. _What happens if that blade touches me? _Sweat dripped down her forehead. _Would he really _kill _me? _Dark eyes glittered with malice. _Will no one save me? _Lily felt her arm growing weak. As a last effort she twisted her head and bit into the arm he was supporting himself with as hard as she could. The instant release in pressure sent her arm flying toward Thanatos. The sliced his cheek. For an instant his eyes screamed in horror and then he collapsed on top of her and the world closed in around her.

The first thing Lily registered when she woke was the terrific pressure on her lungs. Her arms shook as she pushed against the weight and felt it roll off of her. She took a few deep breaths before she finally sat up and looked at the glowing knife. She stared at it as ripples of shock shook her until the noise of movement caught her attention. Eyes wide as saucers stared at her from the head of Thomas who sat as though petrified.

"Thomas. It's okay. I…"

The break in silence broke the spell and Thomas jumped up and sprinted to the door. She heard his screams echoing back to her as she looked over and saw Thanatos lying on the stone floor pale as the moon against the night sky. She bent over and retched repeatedly.

Lily lay staring at the ceiling in the hospital wing as the world tried to right itself around her. She vaguely registered the voices flitting in and out—the headmistress, Professor Finnegan, Albus, Mum and Dad. They seemed to dance in and out of her mind like flickering flames. She just wanted to sleep—peaceful oblivion.

"What happened, Lily?"

"She was holding the knife over him!"

"My sister would never hurt anyone!"

"There's blood all over her."

Like a melancholy symphony the words washed over her leaving her numb.

"The poison on the knife was the same poison that killed Prissy."

"What are you saying—that my daughter…!"

"She could have been Imperiused…that Scorpius Malfoy and she…"

"NO! I did it!" Lily sat up suddenly and felt the room spin. As it slowly came into focus, she felt the oppressive silence. She stared at the white faces surrounding her.

"_He _tried to kill Thomas! I jumped on him and took the knife away. We were wrestling for it and it slipped and—cut—him—and—he—_died!"_ She burst into tears at this point.

"LIAR!" The voice shook the room as a red faced man came thundering from the end of the hospital wing. "How DARE you! How DARE you blame MY son! She's the killer! She killed him! He's dead because of HER!" Professor's Finnegan and Longbottom held the red-faced man back as he struggled to reach Lily.

"Now Tristin…"

"You _believe _her? She's lying! Of course she'd try to blame my Justin! Can't have _Harry Potter's _daughter caught murdering _mudbloods!"_

"Tristin, let's go to my office. We can talk there." The headmistress tried to soothe.

"NO! I want _justice! _I want her thrown in Azkaban!"

The professors started pulling the hysterical man who had now burst into tears toward the door of the hospital wing.

"MURDER!"

The word echoed in the silence and ricocheted around in Lily's frenzied brain. She felt the room tilt dangerously and darkness surrounded her once more.

**A/N: I want to thank all of you who are still reading this story. I'm sorry it is taking me so long to finish. Thanks for your patience and encouraging reviews.**


	14. Love Knows No Bounds

Scor sat staring at the sleeping form of his girlfriend from underneath the invisibility cloak. If anyone had asked him to describe how he felt at that particular moment he would have merely broken down in tears. The board of directors had decided it would be best to send Lily home until the matter of Thanatos's death had been cleared up. Scor could still hear his classmates' speculation ringing in his ears.

"Can you believe the _Potter girl _was the murderer?"

"I don't think Harry Potter's daughter would do something like that…even if she is in Slytherin."

"I don't know. I mean she dated _Malfoy_, didn't she?"

Al didn't show up in classes or at meals all day. Scor had overheard some Gryffindors saying Al had gone mental when someone suggested Scor might have turned Lily bad.

Scor wished he could somehow make everything right again. _I wish Lucius Malfoy had never been born! _Though that would mean Draco would never have been born and then he would never have been born either. His mind continued to whirl as he stared at Lily's dark red hair and creamy skin still bearing the slightest trace of tear tracks.

He rose slowly and crept out of the room.

Halfway down the hall he pulled the cloak off impatiently and stuffed it under his robes. The halls held their breath as he strode down them with a purpose. Finally, he came to stand in front of the gargoyle statue and stared at it impatiently.

"_Snorkack,_" he demanded. The gargoyle glared.

"_Sand sprites." _The gargoyle seemed to grin.

"_Blibbering Humdinger__, Nargles, Wrackspurt!" _The gargoyle finally moved aside to reveal the winding staircase. Scor stepped on mentally steeling himself for what he was about to do. He stood at the door and knocked three times.

"Come in, Mr. Malfoy." Scor didn't stop to wonder how Professor Lovegood knew he stood at the door.

He walked in, and before he could rationalize his way out of it, he said, "I killed Thanatos."

Professor Lovegood appeared unmoved.

"Did you hear me? I killed him! Lily Potter didn't do it."

"How could you kill him when you were not even in the same room?" This did not faze him. Had he not expected this?

"I used her. I've been making up to her since her first year here. I made her fall in love with me, and then I told her to kill Thanatos."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, that's the truth."

"If you cared so little for Lily then I wonder why you are here?"

That _did_ give him pause. How could he explain that one away?

"I don't care for her! I just don't want anyone else to get credit for my hard work!"

"Hmmm." He stood there waiting for the verdict, praying that this would work, hoping she would not question him any further.

"So Lily should stay here while you are sent home, then?"

"Yes."

"And you should be tried for murder in her place?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm." _Please, please let me do this._

"Very well, Mr. Malfoy. I will contact your father. Please return to your dormitory."

He turned and walked back to the door.

"Are you absolutely sure, Mr. Malfoy?" He turned and looked at the notably odd professor who seemed at this moment uncannily aware of what he was up to.

"Absolutely." He tuned and headed down the staircase at once feeling both relief and anxiety.

Scor had all night to dread the next day, but instead he spent it thinking of all the time he had spent with Lily Potter. Four summers he had spent with the Potters each one bringing him closer to Lily. He remembered the Quidditch matches they played with Al and James. _Lily always insisted on being on my team_. He remembered the warm meals prepared by Ginny Potter. _Lily always chose the seat next to me_. He remembered sitting in the living room listening to Harry Potter's memories from school. _One time Lily fell asleep leaning against me_. A yearning to go back to those simpler times enveloped him. _I was stupid for ever asking her to be my girlfriend. That's what started the whole mess. I should have just enjoyed her friendship, but could I have been satisfied with just that?_

All night images and thoughts spun through his brain plaguing him with 'what ifs'. All night his dorm mates slept on not knowing that he would be taken from them. All night the world rotated just as if it had not been turned upside down with the horrible event that had taken place on its very surface, and at last dawn spun into view.

His father came to retrieve him before lunch. Scor almost laughed at the wide eyes of the students staring as he and his floating trunk made their way down the crowded corridor into the entrance hall. Draco's stony silence didn't bode well. The long walk through the grounds towards Hogsmede gave Scor plenty of time to appreciate Draco's 'punishment'.

They apparated from Hogsmede station to Malfoy manor and still Draco refused to speak to Scor. Lucius had a much worse punishment in store. Draco led Scor into the library where Lucius sat comfortably on a black leather couch. From the smirk on Lucius's face, Scor thought Lucius might actually be happy to have a grandson known as a murderer.

"So, you ruined everything because of your stupid love!"

"Sir?"

"Did I stutter? For years I have waited to get my revenge on Harry Potter and you ruin it all!"

"Ruin what?"

Lucius's eyes started to glow.

"Having a murderer for a daughter would have shamed him. Her dying before it could be proven false would have shattered him."

"You were going to kill Lily?"

"No," Scor breathed a sigh of relief. "You were."

"NEVER!"

"Of course not. I see that now. You never would have killed your little love."

Scor didn't try to deny it. He knew it would be useless. How could he deny the feelings he felt for Lily Potter. Every ounce of his being professed it. Every action he took displayed it. It would be like denying his very existence.

"You will pay for your foolishness, of course."

Scor just continued to stare. What did it matter anyway? Whether sent to Azkaban for murder or murdered right here, he would never see Lily again. Did it really make a difference which one it was?

The cruciatus curse felt so familiar it should have been easy to bear. The wracking pain, the emotional turmoil, it all swam together. A brief pause allowed him time to take a breath and wish he could see Lily one last time. Then the pain returned in force. The room spun and spun. His heart throbbed; his head throbbed. Every inch of his body ached like a full-body cramp.

"Father!" He cried but knew it was useless. Draco would not save him. Pansy would not save him. No one would save him.

Blackness surrounded him and he knew no more.

**A/N: Thank you for your patience. No, this is not the end. I hope I will not take so long to update the next chapter. I appreciate all you who have stuck with me. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to review as well. Your encouragement is priceless. **


	15. Love Birds

Morning pressed down on Lily as her subconscious mind drug her conscious mind to the forefront. Her father stood down the way speaking to Madam Abbott softly. The thick clothing pulled on her as she layered robes on top of jumpers and a cloak on top of the robes. She trudged to her father's side and followed him silently down the corridor to the entrance hall, but the sight that met her eyes from her vantage point overlooking the spacious hall brought her to attention immediately.

She tried to listen to the students muttering in front of her.

"…knew he was bad new all along, but I really thought he liked the Potter girl."

"Just means he's a good actor, that's all."

"I'm surprised they caught him at it."

"I heard he turned himself in. Must have been afraid he would get caught anyway."

Lily couldn't believe her ears, but her eyes confirmed the tale. _That is definitely Scor walking across the entrance hall with a floating trunk in his wake. That is definitely Mr. Malfoy looking as though he had just been stunned several times. _She could sympathize with him. _Maybe the same stunners hit me!_

The surreal nature of the events kept her rooted to the spot even minutes later when the other students slowly drifted off. Lily looked back to see her father looking just as stunned as Mr. Malfoy had. That sight jolted her back to life.

"Scor!" She ran down the stairs and across the now sparsely populated entrance hall ignoring the dark looks and the sound of her father's voice as she reached the door.

She saw the small dots making their way to Hogsmede and ran faster. Through the grounds, past the gates, down the path, but a loud crack greeted her when she paused panting in front of the Three Broomsticks. _Broomsticks! _Throwing the door open to the now startled pub, she pushed her way to the bar.

"Mad…Madam…Rose…Rosemerta!"

"My dear, whatever is the matter?"

"Can…can I borrow…a broom?"

"A broom? Well, yes…yes of course." Passing over a sturdy looking broom she started to add, "but what…" Lily didn't even notice though for she had already run back into the street.

She jumped aboard the broom and pushed off just as her father came to the spot she had just left.

"Lily!" She ignored him and kept on flying. _I have to get there. I have to save him. Lucius…he'll…I have to save him!_

She felt as if she had flown for hours before she finally saw the manor in the distance. How many times had she thought of flying over to visit Scor and perhaps tell him how she felt? How many times had she imagined him being thrilled and holding her tightly? How many times had she imagined just the opposite, him laughing hysterically at her presumption? Now as she flew to the window that Scor had told her he always kept unlocked, she wished she could go back to those days and fly over like she had always meant to. As she ran through his room absently noticing the familiar sights and smells, she wished she had told him sooner how she felt. When she reached the bottom of the stairs and heard the piercing scream, "Father!" she wished for nothing more than to reach him in time.

"NO!" She heard her voice as if from a distance. She ran to the still black mass lying face down on the floor and threw herself on top of him. She wrapped her arms around him her tears falling onto his cheek and vaguely registered his beating heart under her hand.

"Well, well. This is what is known as 'killing two birds with one stone.'" The voice sounded pinched and high. "Or in this case, two brats."

She heard the flowing words of the killing curse sounding more like a benediction than a sentence of death. She felt air whoosh by her as she held Scor tighter pressing her cheek against his. She felt a heavy weight press down on her back similar to the dead weight of Thanatos. Then she heard a shriek that sounded as if it were torn from the lips of the person from whence it came.

"MY SON!"

The weight lifted. Lily wondered at the strange sensations of death. _Does one always feel so alive? _She could still feel Scor's heart beating against her hand. She could still feel her own ragged breaths escaping through her sobs. She could still feel her wet cheek pressed against his.

"NO! MY SON!" Lily attempted to look around and found that she could do so easily. A shocking sight met her eyes. Lucius Malfoy knelt in the same position she did over Scor, but he held Draco Malfoy in his arms. Tears streamed down Lucius's face as well, but they fell on Draco's pale cheek. Lucius's hand pressed against Draco's chest, but Lily could tell from its stillness that no heart beat beneath that hand.

"MY SON! MY SON!"

"What are you waiting for? Kill the girl! Now, while you have the chance!" The piercing high voice had no effect on Lucius Malfoy now. He seemed to be alone. No words could reach him. "You fool! Kill the girl! Kill the girl!"

Lily turned to see the pale luminous ghost, a look of rage shimmering on its stretched face, moving toward Lucius and then backing away as though his presence burned the undead soul.

"MY SON! YOU KILLED MY SON!" Still Lucius did not register his surroundings but seemed rather to be speaking to himself.

The ghost made one last rush at Lucius just as the front doors flew off their hinges and a group of aurors pushed their way into the room. Lucius had just burst into a fresh wave of tears and the ghost ricocheted away from him across the room hovering in a daze near a potted plant.

"Lily, are you all right?" Harry hurried over and tried to pull his daughter into his arms, but Lily wouldn't let go of Scorpius.

"Dad…he's…he's…"

"He's alive. He's just stunned." Harry said feeling Scor's pulse.

"The ghost!" Lily pointed to the disoriented mist near the ivy.

"Guess we'll have to be a bit more specific about where we banish him to. _Depello Specus!_"

"Where…did you send…him?" Lily looked down to see Scor's grey eyes staring at the place the ghost had been.

"Glad to see you've rejoined us," Harry smiled. "I sent him to the cave where he hid one of his horcruxes. No one is likely to happen upon him there."

Lily didn't bother listening to this explanation. She was too busy showering Scor's face with kisses.

"Lily, let the man breathe!" Lily looked up and smiled. "Oh, and before we get too far away from it, you're grounded for the summer for flying off without me."

"Dad!"

"Don't give me that. You could have been killed. I'm sure your mum would agree."

She just sighed. Putting up with grounding, detention, or even being expelled would be worth it just knowing she had saved Scor.

"Where is Dad?" Her heart sank. In the excitement of getting rid of Voldemort and Scor waking up, she had completely forgotten about the man rocking back and forth behind them holding Draco's limp body.

"He…he…" The tears trailed down again and Scor sat up to see beyond her. "He saved us. He threw himself in front of the curse and saved us."

Somehow she knew this wasn't any consolation. She wrapped her arms around Scor's shoulders, but she could feel how stiff he was. Two aurors tried to remove Draco's body but they could not budge the weeping man.

"What should we do, Harry?" Scor crawled over and touched his father's staring face. Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath. Lily saw Lucius look up.

"Draco?" He looked back down at the still body. "Draco?"

"Scorpius," Scor said and smoothed a lock of his father's hair. Lucius couldn't seem to reconcile the two.

"Draco?" He said looking at Scor again.

"He's had a shock," Harry said softly next to Lily's ear.

The two aurors were able to pull Draco's body away due to Lucius's confusion, but now Lucius would not release his grandson.

"Draco! Don't go! Don't leave me!" The two aurors finally had to sedate the man before he could be taken away.

Harry put an arm around Scor's shoulder and Lily wrapped her arm around his waist. They made their way out of the house onto the grounds and down to the gate.

"Guess this time you saved _my _life," Scor said to Lily.

"Well, I owed you one." She smiled and they both held tightly to Harry's arms as they apparated to the Potter house.

**A/N: See, I told you I wouldn't take as long this time! Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for all the lovely reviews. I loooooove reviews.**


	16. Stars and Scamps Forever

Scorpius Malfoy's shoes clicked neatly as he walked down the hall of St. Mungo's Extended Care Ward. He inclined his head politely to the healer on duty and walked through the double doors. He glanced neither to the right or the left as he made his way to the last bed and pushed aside the curtain at the end of the ward.

"Hello, Grandfather." He had tried many times to keep the flatness out of his voice, but it never seemed to work. How could he forget all the grief this man had caused him? How could he forget the terror?

"Hello, Draco." Scor felt the familiar piercing to the heart. He restrained himself from slapping the man for even daring to utter his father's name.

"Daddy, why does Great-grandfather call you Draco?" Scor looked down at the little girl standing patiently beside him with a curious look on her pretty face. Her strawberry-blonde hair fell in ringlets around her face, and her silver eyes shone brightly.

"Grandfather isn't well, sweetheart." Scor bent down and picked up his daughter. Lucius looked at the girl curiously.

"Who is this, Draco?"

"This is my daughter, Carina."

"What a lovely child, Draco. She looks just like you. I remember when your son was born, Scorpius wasn't it? Yes. Such a beautiful baby. How you adored him."

Scor had to blink several times to hold back the tears. Lucius hadn't delivered such a long dialogue since Draco had died. The healers had said the prolonged possession by Voldemort's ghost had damaged his mind. His love for his son had driven the spirit from him but nothing could completely repair the damage to Lucius Malfoy. Scorpius felt he deserved every bit of it.

"I wanted to tell you that I won't be coming to visit next Saturday, Grandfather. The twins are having their birthday party, so I will come the Monday after."

"Very well. Don't forget to mention that matter I told you of to the Minister."

"I won't." Lucius usually spoke of nothing else. He constantly expressed his concern regarding dragons mating with squirrels, and Scor found it difficult to keep a straight face.

"Good-bye Great-grandfather." Carina waved a little wave and Lucius reached for her hand. Scor tensed as she put her tiny hand in his, but he merely leaned over and placed a kiss on the top.

"Good-bye, Narcissa. Please come again."

Carina looked up with a laugh threatening to escape her lips, but Scor shook his head slightly and she reined it in.

Scor put her down and took her hand leading her back the way they had come.

"Daddy, Great-grandfather is funny!" _Barmy is more like it!_

"Yes, I guess he is, but it wouldn't be polite to laugh."

"Yes, Daddy. Are we going home now?"

"Yes, we need to get you ready to go see Uncle James."

Scor led his daughter through the London streets marveling again at the unfamiliar devices and laughing at all of Carina's questions. They finally reached the small cottage they called home situated neatly amongst a copse of trees. Carina ran ahead up the walk; Scor took his time enjoying the sight of the house that did not even remotely resemble the huge mausoleum he had lived in as a child. He couldn't bring himself to live in it after his father's death.

Once a year he would visit the family cemetery and spend the day telling his father all about the family he would never get to see. If Draco hadn't broken free of the Imperius curse when he did, Scor would not be alive to have a family. He usually came home exhausted and puffy-eyed, but he had a home to come to.

He walked through the door Carina had left open.

"Anybody home?"

"Daddy!"

"Daddy!"

He picked up his second set of twins, Fredrick and Georgiana.

"And what mischief have you two been up to?"

"Well, for starters, they found my wand and singed Draco's eyebrows off." Lily walked up and took Georgiana from his arms and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Really? You'll make Uncle George proud!"

"How was it?" Lily looked concerned.

"Better than normal, actually. I'm still Draco, but this time Narcissa joined me." Scor watched his wife's eyebrow creep up. "I might take Draco next time and see if I can really confuse him."

"Aww Dad! I don't wanna go there! Hospitals are boring." Draco came into the room sporting black singe marks where his eyebrows used to be.

"It's not so bad, Draco. Great-grandfather is funny!" His twin tried to console him.

"Aww whadda you know!" Lily shot Scor a look which said 'he's more like your father every day.'

"Well, are we ready to go see James's seventh?"

"We'd better hurry. Dad won't be able to stay very long. He's still trying to find the source of those disturbances in the south." Harry Potter had thwarted Voldemort's plans to gain a new following. Without Lucius's financial backing and Voldemort's ghostly presence the Deatheater wannabes disbanded pretty quickly.

"Alright everybody, let's go say hello to Sirius." Scor smiled at his family.

"And no more trouble from you two!" Lily pointed at the three-year old twins who smirked identical smirks.

"Yes, mummy."

"Yes, mummy."

They headed out of the house hand in hand, and Scor couldn't help but be thankful. He may have lost his family, but Lily had saved his life in more ways than one.

Fin

**A/N: I can't believe it's finished. I'm really going to miss this story. Thank-you so much for all the wonderful reviews and especially for taking the time to read my story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**


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